This massive volume of 675 pages is local in the sense that it concentrates on the Dublin area only and is based on the records of the Guild of St Luke the Evangelist, the Dublin stationers' guild. The 2,200 or so entries cover all branches of the Dublin book trade from as far back as records go, down to the Act of Union in 1800, and include not only booksellers and publishers but also printers and bookbinders. Strangely, in those early 18th-century days, nearly all booksellers also sold stationery - and patent medicines. The compiler of this valuable dictionary, Mary Pollard, was deputy-keeper of Marsh's Library 1957-1966 and Keeper of Early Printed Books at Trinity College 19661983. As well as providing a useful short history of the Guild of St Luke, she has devised a fairly simple reference system for the entries, which are arranged alphabetically. This, undoubtedly, will become the definitive work on the subject and its high price will not deter the true bibliophile or antiquarian.
In the Shadow of Benbulben. By Joe McGowan. Aeolus. hb £19.95, pb £11.95
Essentially a history of Mullaghmore, Co Sligo - a place which garnered a mass of dubious fame in comparatively recent times - this is a reprint of the 1993 edition which has been out of print for several years. It holds a wealth of local lore gathered not only from the usual sources (Ordnance Survey, Griffith's Valuation, Lewis and Wood Martin) but also from local story-tellers and from the author's own experience working on the family farm before emigrating in 1961. Happily he returned in 1976 and his native area owes him a debt of honour for this local history. From Balor of the Firbolgs to 1993, the book chronicles the story of Mullaghmore through the eventful ages, with many illustrations, a couple of appendices and a collection of poems and ballads about the place. Traces of the reprint are apparent in some references which could have been updated for this otherwise attractive volume.
Riocht na Midhe. Edited by Seamus Mac Gabhann. Meath Archaeological and Historical Society. £12
As usual Riocht na Midhe maintains a high standard, both in content and variety, and all contributed by an array of scholars that should be the envy of other county historical societies. The 14 articles, which range in subject from prehistory to modern times, augment the vast store of local lore which this journal has presented since its inception in 1958. To single out any one of the distinguished contributors might seem invidious but George Eogan's two articles, on "Archaeology in Meath" and "High Crosses in Brega", set a standard that is emulated by Al Donnelly, Ephrem Feeley, Meadhbh Ni Chonmhidhe Piskorski, Liam Cox, Brid McGrath, Patrick Fagan, Enda O'Boyle, Rory Masterson, Nicholas Anthony Leonard, Richard Clarke, Terence A.M.Dooley and Seamus MacGabhann himself. Book reviews are contributed by John Bradley, Fiacre O Cairbre and Jacinta Prunty. No Meath person interested in his or her county's history should be without this volume, No XII in the series.
Ition - A History 1910 - 2000 By Aileen Heverin. The ICA and Wolfhound Press. £9.99
Starting life in 1910 as the Society of United Irishwomen, the ICA is the oldest and largest women's organisation in Ireland. Working for the betterment of women, through education and addressing specific grievances, the ICA could not ever be described as "radical" in its policies and has often clashed with the feminist movement. As a former president of the organisation put it in the 1970s: "Those demanding contraception have made their point, but in 1910, poultry and not the pill was foremost in the minds of Irish countrywomen". Yet while feminist movements have come and gone, the ICA continues with its work of improving the lives of Irish women in countless ways. This is made manifest in Aileen Heverin's fine history, constructed largely from the records of the association and drawing on commentaries and references in a variety of sources. There are numerous photographs of ICA events and personalities and if every member of the organisation buys a copy, then the book should achieve the wide circulation which it deserves.
The Great Famine in Nenagh Poor Law Union, Co Tipperary. By Daniel Grace. Relay Books. £I5
By now the Great Famine must surely rank as the single most-written-about event, nationally and locally, in modern Irish history. Books, theses, articles and local publications have thrown new light on the catastrophe and this well-produced volume adds a fresh chapter to the overall narrative. Daniel Grace has chosen the three baronies of Lower Ormond, Upper Ormond and Owney and Arra, in northwest Tipperary, as the location of this study, drawing largely on the records of Nenagh Guardians' minute-books and two contemporary newspapers published locally. But these sources, as the author right1y points out, do not reflect the feelings of the real victims of the Famine, the cottiers and labourers. This excellent review redresses this imbalance in a commendable manner for one small corner of the land.
Richard Roche is a local historian, author and journalist