O Come Ye Back to Ireland: Our First Year in County Clare

A story of a young couple who abandoned their careers in New York and moved to Ireland tells of their idyllic life in a cottage, surrounded by the beauty and character of the land of their ancestors

This New York City couple who met as graduate students in Dublin, gave up the urban lifestyle two years ago to return to the land of their ancestors. Pursuit of their dream took them to the tiny village of Kilmihil on Ireland's bleakly beautiful west coast, where they settled into a farm cottage. Their journal records culture shockat the turf they must learn to cut and burn for heat, for exampleas well as discovery of the wealth of traditional music and their storytelling rural neighbors. In alternating voices, they express dismay and frustration in coping with a lifestyle where time is of little significance. But, by the second year, Breen has a budding artistic career as well as a blooming garden, and Williams certifies as a farmer, as well as a dabbler in local theatrics. Entertaining and instructive, the journal, with Breen's illustrations, captures a way of life foreign to most readers . First serial to Irish America; Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In 1985, Williams and Breen left their New York City publishing jobs and moved to remote County Clare in western Ireland. Breen had planned to paint and Williams to write, but when their food, shelter, and even energy source depended on their own effortsand the weather, which in the west of Ireland means rainthe two found it necessary to alter their plans in order to survive. The reader will find out about the impact of rain on the region, the interdependence of neighbors, and, most of all, what it is like to live in what society considers "poverty." While the authors continued to have doubts about their decision, their charming account often reads like a novel and is recommended for most collections. Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., Ala.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.