Books About the Lee Valley
area of West Cork, Ireland
By
Maire Uí Shuibhne
Since
it is one of the most historical and scenic
parts of the country, it is little surprise that the
Lee Valley boasts a huge number of books recording
its beauty and its past. These come in all shapes,
sizes and prices and are of interest to local
history addicts, emigrants, anthropologists and the
wider public
A favourite for those with an
interest in Uíbh Laoghaire is Beatha Bharra : St.
Finbarr of Cork by Pádraig Ó Riain and don't
forget the booklet Ar Bhruach na Laoi, a
collection of songs from the area which comes
accompanied by a tape or CD. Ballingeary Historical
Society has recorded the history of Uíbh Laoghaire
in word and pictures. They have published two
volumes of the Uíbh Laoire Collection and
each year produce a historical journal.
Macroom,
at the heart of the Lee Valley, is well documented.
Barry O'Brien, C.E.O. of Cork County V.E.C., and
himself a county footballer of the 1970s, has
produced four publications about his native town.
Macroom G.A.A. Club History 1886 - 1987
is available and his series, Macroom - a
chronicle, comes in three parts, each priced at
£2.50. They contain essays on a variety of subjects
and characters pertaining to the town and its
surrounding parishes.
Unfortunately, Macroom
through the mists of time, an historical
geography of the area by Denis Paul Ring, is
out of print. Containing a plethora of photographs,
maps and references, it is eagerly sought on the
secondhand market.
Memories of Macroom by
James Kelleher, tells of Mount Massey, Baldwins, Art
O'Leary, the Civil War and events such as Fair Day,
the coming of the circus, the pictures etc. This
100-page illustrated book sells at £5.
History
books dealing with Macroom and its surrounds are
many. Rebel Cork in Insurrection - 1798 by
Tomás Mac Cormaic, tells of the execution of Robert
Hutchinson at Codrum House, Macroom and the
subsequent betrayal of his comrades by the infamous
Malachy Duggan. O'Sullivan Burke - Fenian is
a recent publication from Mary C. Lynch and Seamus
O'Donoghue.
Michael Galvin, a most
prolific author, has written of Famine times in
Kilmichael, Kilmurry, Newcestown and Enniskeane.
Black Blight, like all of Galvin's books, sells
at £10. His story of Land Reform, Labour and Home
Rule in mid-Cork, comes in two parts, The Slow
Sunrise and his recent publication Morning
Star.
Another local book dealing with the
Great Hunger is Famine in Muskerry - An
Drochshaol. It is a profile of the
sixteen parishes which comprised Macroom Poor Law
Union in the mid-nineteenth century. With the aid of
maps and photographs, it describes conditions in
Macroom, Clondrohid, Kilcorney, Donoughmore, Matehy,
Aghabullogue, Aghinagh, Coachford, Canovee, Ovens,
Kilmurry, Kilmichael, Iveleary, Cill na Martra and
Ballyvourney.
I.R.A. Volunteers in the Lee Valley
and Cork in general were very active during the War
of Independence and this is reflected in the many
books about the era. Perhaps the best known is
Guerilla Days in Ireland by Tom Barry. The
Wild Heather Glen - Kilmichael's Story of Grief and
Glory by Louis White, gives a pen picture of the
participants in the Kilmichael Ambush. The Road
to Crossbarry is written by Diarmuid Begley.
Charlie Browne's Story of the 7th
is out of print and in demand secondhand. Tim
Sheehan has recorded the death of Major Compton
-Smith in Execute Hostage and Mrs. Lindsay's
execution in Lady Hostage and these may be
available from the author.
Michael Galvin
wrote of The Kilmurry Volunteers and
Fr. Patrick Twohig has recorded details of the 'time
of the Black and Tans in mid-Cork' in Green Tears
for Hecuba.
Fr. Twohig has written about the
Civil War in West Cork in The Dark Secret of
Béal na mBláth. He has also published Filí
an tSuláin, which traces the development of
Irish poetry in the Muskerry Gaeltacht.
Peter
Golden - the Voice of Ireland by Jim
Herlihy is a biography of the Macroom poet,
orator, patriot and journalist who emigrated to
America.
Aubane Historical Society has published
The Restructuring of Ireland 1890 - 1910, Aubane
- Where in the World is it? and 250 Years of
the Butter Road.
Many schools have
celebrated anniversaries with publications recording
their history. The oldest school in Ireland is in
Kilmichael, where Memories of Dromleigh looks
back to its roots in 1840. Ballyvongane N.S. 1845
- 1995 recalls 150 years of education in
Aghinagh. Tales of the Launey Valley is the
most recent school publication, commemorating a
hundred years of education in Ballinagree.
General books which refer to the Lee Valley include
West Cork - a sort of history like and
Theirs not to do or die by Tony Brehony. The
Cork Anthology by the late Seán Dunne includes
excerpts relating to Gougane Barra, Cuil Aodha,
Carraig a' Staighre, Macroom and beyond. Lovely
is the Lee by Robert Gibbings, is a must for
everyone interested in the region, but is now
difficult to access. Family names of County Cork
is another favourite. Songs and Poems of the
Launey Valley is selling very well.
Social
development is charted in many volumes. Michael
Galvin's To Make a Railway tells of the
effect the Cork- Macroom train system had on the
district and why it was closed down. Seamus
O'Donoghue's Flooding of the Lee Valley
studies the impact of the Lee hydro-electric scheme
on a community. Hold your Horses is a history
of Ballinagree, as reflected in the lives of the
Horgan Brothers, masters of the horse plough.
Harvest by Majella Flynn tells of grain growing,
harvesting and milling in Ireland. Cumann Peile
Gael na mBan is a Ladies Gaelic Football
Association publication.
Cill na Martra has a
lovely book simply entitled Cill na Martra,
Muscraí Co Chorcaí. A collection of music by
Connie O'Connell, entitled Ceol Chill na Martra,
is now available.
Albert Keating of
Coolnidane, Macroom, has Selected Poems to
his credit. Dónal Healy, Cúil Aodha, has compiled an
exhaustive history of the Healy clan, entitled
The Healy Story. Kevin Corcoran, an inveterate
walker, has written many books for people with like
interests and West Cork Walks is particularly
attractive for the active environmentalist in the
Lee Valley.
Books on Michael Collins are
many and varied. They include biographies by Tim Pat
Coogan, Justin Nelson, James Mackay, Margaret
Forester, Francis Costelloe, Meda Ryan, Vincent
McDowell and León Ó Broin.
Recent religious
publications are Footprints of my Journey by
Fr. Flor Lynch and From the Heart by Mary
Casey.
Cape Clear Island - Its people and
landscape by Eamon Lankford and Mackerel and
the making of Baltimore will also have general
appeal.
Most of the above books are
available from local sources and from
Mairead
MacSweeney at
Macroom
Bookshop,
Macroom
Co Cork,
Ireland
026/41888.