"Say Nothing"-My Brief Career in an Irish Asylum

Author: Christine Lacey

Publisher:

Published: 2019-02-19

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 9781999354596

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March 1994 and Dublin was buzzing. The Celtic Tiger was hovering on the edge of the city, breathing hot economic promises into the cool night air. The excitement was palpable and to a rule-abiding Yank, the Irish disdain for authority was irresistible. Christine's mid-life adventure, to seek a new existence in Ireland, was an ongoing conundrum to her friends and family, drawing a host of well-intentioned comments and one blinkered observation, "They speak English and you can figure out the money, where's the challenge in that?" On her first Sunday Holy Hour, she found herself inside O'Donoghue's pub on Baggot Street, listening to music, nursing one pint of Guinness and trying to ignore the second pint that had magically appeared behind it. From nowhere, a man jumped from the floor, onto the bar and "Riverdanced" between the pints, his dazzling feet meeting her gaze but missing her Guinness. She was mesmerized. Amid rampant applause, the dancer jumped from the bar to the floor allowing the drinking to continue and the barman to carry on. Seeing her with two full pints, the barman stopped. He picked up one and holding it in front of her, he scolded the novice punter, "Look here now," he said, "this is a living thing. It needs oxygen to survive and you're after killing it." Then he threw out the pint and replaced it with a new one. "I'm giving you one more chance, now drink!" And as she did, the source of the pint, a music-loving, poetry writing, Guinness guzzling, giant man from Donegal, nudged his stool next to hers. He raised his glass, "Slan," he said as the doors were locked for Holy Hour. ******************** Well and truly past her sell-by-date, Christine left Los Angeles for a job as a therapist in an ancient Irish asylum also known as Portrane. Sweetly duped by the gangly, tall, elderly interview chairman, his offer of employment came with a whiskey recommendation but omitted the word "asylum." It was her first exposure to their future conflict of cultures; Americans who can't shut up and the Irish, who provide only the most necessary of information; it's a skill honed from 800 years of English oppression, or so they say. Leo, her Irish-American neighbor, taught her his one abiding Irish rule; "Whatever you say, say nothing. Say nothing and you'll get along just fine." She understood. She would be that Yank that blended in, respected her new country, adopted its rules and adapted to its quirks. She would be Irish. She would say nothing. Leo's advice led her to believe that putting her rent money down a hole in the ground was normal. It wasn't. That all those lovely, chatty men in the pub were single. They weren't. That Portrane really wanted her expertise. It didn't. But the staff and the residents of Portrane; Anthony, Hugo, Kitty and Annie, who knew Portrane as their only home, taught her all about living in the asylum and seeing it as the home and the refuge that it was meant to be.


Book Synopsis "Say Nothing"-My Brief Career in an Irish Asylum by : Christine Lacey

Download or read book "Say Nothing"-My Brief Career in an Irish Asylum written by Christine Lacey and published by . This book was released on 2019-02-19 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: March 1994 and Dublin was buzzing. The Celtic Tiger was hovering on the edge of the city, breathing hot economic promises into the cool night air. The excitement was palpable and to a rule-abiding Yank, the Irish disdain for authority was irresistible. Christine's mid-life adventure, to seek a new existence in Ireland, was an ongoing conundrum to her friends and family, drawing a host of well-intentioned comments and one blinkered observation, "They speak English and you can figure out the money, where's the challenge in that?" On her first Sunday Holy Hour, she found herself inside O'Donoghue's pub on Baggot Street, listening to music, nursing one pint of Guinness and trying to ignore the second pint that had magically appeared behind it. From nowhere, a man jumped from the floor, onto the bar and "Riverdanced" between the pints, his dazzling feet meeting her gaze but missing her Guinness. She was mesmerized. Amid rampant applause, the dancer jumped from the bar to the floor allowing the drinking to continue and the barman to carry on. Seeing her with two full pints, the barman stopped. He picked up one and holding it in front of her, he scolded the novice punter, "Look here now," he said, "this is a living thing. It needs oxygen to survive and you're after killing it." Then he threw out the pint and replaced it with a new one. "I'm giving you one more chance, now drink!" And as she did, the source of the pint, a music-loving, poetry writing, Guinness guzzling, giant man from Donegal, nudged his stool next to hers. He raised his glass, "Slan," he said as the doors were locked for Holy Hour. ******************** Well and truly past her sell-by-date, Christine left Los Angeles for a job as a therapist in an ancient Irish asylum also known as Portrane. Sweetly duped by the gangly, tall, elderly interview chairman, his offer of employment came with a whiskey recommendation but omitted the word "asylum." It was her first exposure to their future conflict of cultures; Americans who can't shut up and the Irish, who provide only the most necessary of information; it's a skill honed from 800 years of English oppression, or so they say. Leo, her Irish-American neighbor, taught her his one abiding Irish rule; "Whatever you say, say nothing. Say nothing and you'll get along just fine." She understood. She would be that Yank that blended in, respected her new country, adopted its rules and adapted to its quirks. She would be Irish. She would say nothing. Leo's advice led her to believe that putting her rent money down a hole in the ground was normal. It wasn't. That all those lovely, chatty men in the pub were single. They weren't. That Portrane really wanted her expertise. It didn't. But the staff and the residents of Portrane; Anthony, Hugo, Kitty and Annie, who knew Portrane as their only home, taught her all about living in the asylum and seeing it as the home and the refuge that it was meant to be.


Say Nothing

Say Nothing

Author: Patrick Radden Keefe

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2019-02-26

Total Pages: 516

ISBN-13: 0385543379

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Soon to be an FX limited series streaming on HULU • From the author of Empire of Pain—a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions. "Masked intruders dragged Jean McConville, a 38-year-old widow and mother of 10, from her Belfast home in 1972. In this meticulously reported book—as finely paced as a novel—Keefe uses McConville's murder as a prism to tell the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Interviewing people on both sides of the conflict, he transforms the tragic damage and waste of the era into a searing, utterly gripping saga." —New York Times Book Review Jean McConville's abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible. But in a climate of fear and paranoia, no one would speak of it. In 2003, five years after an accord brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, a set of human bones was discovered on a beach. McConville's children knew it was their mother when they were told a blue safety pin was attached to the dress--with so many kids, she had always kept it handy for diapers or ripped clothes. Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders. From radical and impetuous I.R.A. terrorists such as Dolours Price, who, when she was barely out of her teens, was already planting bombs in London and targeting informers for execution, to the ferocious I.R.A. mastermind known as The Dark, to the spy games and dirty schemes of the British Army, to Gerry Adams, who negotiated the peace but betrayed his hardcore comrades by denying his I.R.A. past--Say Nothing conjures a world of passion, betrayal, vengeance, and anguish.


Book Synopsis Say Nothing by : Patrick Radden Keefe

Download or read book Say Nothing written by Patrick Radden Keefe and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2019-02-26 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Soon to be an FX limited series streaming on HULU • From the author of Empire of Pain—a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions. "Masked intruders dragged Jean McConville, a 38-year-old widow and mother of 10, from her Belfast home in 1972. In this meticulously reported book—as finely paced as a novel—Keefe uses McConville's murder as a prism to tell the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Interviewing people on both sides of the conflict, he transforms the tragic damage and waste of the era into a searing, utterly gripping saga." —New York Times Book Review Jean McConville's abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible. But in a climate of fear and paranoia, no one would speak of it. In 2003, five years after an accord brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, a set of human bones was discovered on a beach. McConville's children knew it was their mother when they were told a blue safety pin was attached to the dress--with so many kids, she had always kept it handy for diapers or ripped clothes. Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders. From radical and impetuous I.R.A. terrorists such as Dolours Price, who, when she was barely out of her teens, was already planting bombs in London and targeting informers for execution, to the ferocious I.R.A. mastermind known as The Dark, to the spy games and dirty schemes of the British Army, to Gerry Adams, who negotiated the peace but betrayed his hardcore comrades by denying his I.R.A. past--Say Nothing conjures a world of passion, betrayal, vengeance, and anguish.


Suitable Strangers

Suitable Strangers

Author: Vera Sheridan

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2023-01-03

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0253064635

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In 1956, a group of 548 refugees escaping the violence of the Hungarian Revolution arrived on the shores of Ireland. With its own history shaped by waves of emigration to escape war, famine, and religious persecution, Ireland responded by creating its first international refugee settlement. Suitable Strangers reveals the firsthand experiences of the men, women, and children who lived in the Knockalisheen refugee camp near Limerick. For the majority of those living in the camp, Ireland was meant to be a temporary waystation on their ultimate journeys, primarily to Canada, the United States, and Australia. But after almost six months of uncertainty and feeling neglected by the Irish government, the Hungarian refugees began a hunger strike, which garnered national resentment and international headlines. Vera Sheridan explores this revolt and ensuing events by offering a complex and nuanced examination of the daily routines, state policies, and international motives that shaped life in the camp. A fascinating read for historians as well as those interested in refugee and migrant studies, Suitable Strangers complicates the Irish diaspora by providing a closer look at the realities of Ireland's Knockalisheen refugee settlement.


Book Synopsis Suitable Strangers by : Vera Sheridan

Download or read book Suitable Strangers written by Vera Sheridan and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2023-01-03 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1956, a group of 548 refugees escaping the violence of the Hungarian Revolution arrived on the shores of Ireland. With its own history shaped by waves of emigration to escape war, famine, and religious persecution, Ireland responded by creating its first international refugee settlement. Suitable Strangers reveals the firsthand experiences of the men, women, and children who lived in the Knockalisheen refugee camp near Limerick. For the majority of those living in the camp, Ireland was meant to be a temporary waystation on their ultimate journeys, primarily to Canada, the United States, and Australia. But after almost six months of uncertainty and feeling neglected by the Irish government, the Hungarian refugees began a hunger strike, which garnered national resentment and international headlines. Vera Sheridan explores this revolt and ensuing events by offering a complex and nuanced examination of the daily routines, state policies, and international motives that shaped life in the camp. A fascinating read for historians as well as those interested in refugee and migrant studies, Suitable Strangers complicates the Irish diaspora by providing a closer look at the realities of Ireland's Knockalisheen refugee settlement.


Mind, State and Society

Mind, State and Society

Author: George Ikkos

Publisher: RCPsych Publications

Published: 2021-06-16

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 1009040383

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A multidisciplinary account of the reforms in psychiatry and mental health in Britain during 1960-2010 and their relation to society.


Book Synopsis Mind, State and Society by : George Ikkos

Download or read book Mind, State and Society written by George Ikkos and published by RCPsych Publications. This book was released on 2021-06-16 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A multidisciplinary account of the reforms in psychiatry and mental health in Britain during 1960-2010 and their relation to society.


Stalking Irish Madness

Stalking Irish Madness

Author: Patrick Tracey

Publisher: Bantam

Published: 2008-08-26

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 0553905597

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In this powerful, sometimes harrowing, deeply felt story, Patrick Tracey journeys to Ireland to track the origin and solve the mystery of his Irish-American family's multigenerational struggle with schizophrenia. For most Irish Americans, a trip to Ireland is often an occasion to revisit their family's roots. But for Patrick Tracey, the lure of his ancestral home is a much more powerful need: part pilgrimage, part investigation to confront the genealogical mystery of schizophrenia–a disease that had claimed a great-great-great-grandmother, a grandmother, an uncle, and, most recently, two sisters. As long as Tracey could remember, schizophrenia ran on his mother's side, seldom spoken of outright but impossible to ignore. Devastated by the emotional toll the disease had already taken on his family, terrified of passing it on to any children he might have, and inspired by the recent discovery of the first genetic link to schizophrenia, Tracey followed his genealogical trail from Boston to Ireland's county Roscommon, home of his oldest-known schizophrenic ancestor. In a renovated camper, Tracey crossed the Emerald Isle to investigate the country that, until the 1960s, had the world's highest rate of institutionalization for mental illness, following clues and separating fact from fiction in the legendary relationship the Irish have had with madness. Tracey's path leads from fairy mounds and ancient caverns still shrouded in superstition to old pubs whose colorful inhabitants are a treasure trove of local lore. He visits the massive and grim asylum where his famine starved ancestors may have lived. And he interviews the Irish research team that first cracked the schizophrenic code to learn how much–and how little–we know about this often misunderstood disease. Filled with history, science, and lore, Stalking Irish Madness is an unforgettable chronicle of one man's attempt to make sense of his family's past and to find hope for the future of schizophrenic patients. From the Hardcover edition.


Book Synopsis Stalking Irish Madness by : Patrick Tracey

Download or read book Stalking Irish Madness written by Patrick Tracey and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2008-08-26 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this powerful, sometimes harrowing, deeply felt story, Patrick Tracey journeys to Ireland to track the origin and solve the mystery of his Irish-American family's multigenerational struggle with schizophrenia. For most Irish Americans, a trip to Ireland is often an occasion to revisit their family's roots. But for Patrick Tracey, the lure of his ancestral home is a much more powerful need: part pilgrimage, part investigation to confront the genealogical mystery of schizophrenia–a disease that had claimed a great-great-great-grandmother, a grandmother, an uncle, and, most recently, two sisters. As long as Tracey could remember, schizophrenia ran on his mother's side, seldom spoken of outright but impossible to ignore. Devastated by the emotional toll the disease had already taken on his family, terrified of passing it on to any children he might have, and inspired by the recent discovery of the first genetic link to schizophrenia, Tracey followed his genealogical trail from Boston to Ireland's county Roscommon, home of his oldest-known schizophrenic ancestor. In a renovated camper, Tracey crossed the Emerald Isle to investigate the country that, until the 1960s, had the world's highest rate of institutionalization for mental illness, following clues and separating fact from fiction in the legendary relationship the Irish have had with madness. Tracey's path leads from fairy mounds and ancient caverns still shrouded in superstition to old pubs whose colorful inhabitants are a treasure trove of local lore. He visits the massive and grim asylum where his famine starved ancestors may have lived. And he interviews the Irish research team that first cracked the schizophrenic code to learn how much–and how little–we know about this often misunderstood disease. Filled with history, science, and lore, Stalking Irish Madness is an unforgettable chronicle of one man's attempt to make sense of his family's past and to find hope for the future of schizophrenic patients. From the Hardcover edition.


Paradise Redefined

Paradise Redefined

Author: Vanessa Fong

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2011-08-01

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 0804772673

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This book picks up where author Vanessa Fong left off in Only Hope: Coming of Age under China's One-Child Policy (Stanford, 2004), and continues by telling the stories of the Chinese youth who left China in their teens and 20s to study in Australia, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, North America, or Singapore. Fong examines the expectations and experiences of Chinese students who go abroad in search of opportunity, and the factors that cause some to return to China and others to stay abroad.


Book Synopsis Paradise Redefined by : Vanessa Fong

Download or read book Paradise Redefined written by Vanessa Fong and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2011-08-01 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book picks up where author Vanessa Fong left off in Only Hope: Coming of Age under China's One-Child Policy (Stanford, 2004), and continues by telling the stories of the Chinese youth who left China in their teens and 20s to study in Australia, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, North America, or Singapore. Fong examines the expectations and experiences of Chinese students who go abroad in search of opportunity, and the factors that cause some to return to China and others to stay abroad.


The Secret Scripture

The Secret Scripture

Author: Sebastian Barry

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2008-06-12

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1101202920

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An epic story of family, love, and unavoidable tragedy from the two-time Man Booker Prize finalist. Now a major motion picture starring Rooney Mara. Sebastian Barry's latest novel, Days Without End, is now available. Sebastian Barry's novels have been hugely admired by readers and critics, and in 2005 his novel A Long Long Way was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In The Secret Scripture, Barry revisits County Sligo, Ireland, the setting for his previous three books, to tell the unforgettable story of Roseanne McNulty. Once one of the most beguiling women in Sligo, she is now a resident of Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital and nearing her hundredth year. Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, The Secret Scripture is an engrossing tale of one woman's life, and a poignant story of the cruelties of civil war and corrupted power. The Secret Scripture is now a film starring Rooney Mara, Eric Bana, and Vanessa Redgrave.


Book Synopsis The Secret Scripture by : Sebastian Barry

Download or read book The Secret Scripture written by Sebastian Barry and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2008-06-12 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An epic story of family, love, and unavoidable tragedy from the two-time Man Booker Prize finalist. Now a major motion picture starring Rooney Mara. Sebastian Barry's latest novel, Days Without End, is now available. Sebastian Barry's novels have been hugely admired by readers and critics, and in 2005 his novel A Long Long Way was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In The Secret Scripture, Barry revisits County Sligo, Ireland, the setting for his previous three books, to tell the unforgettable story of Roseanne McNulty. Once one of the most beguiling women in Sligo, she is now a resident of Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital and nearing her hundredth year. Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, The Secret Scripture is an engrossing tale of one woman's life, and a poignant story of the cruelties of civil war and corrupted power. The Secret Scripture is now a film starring Rooney Mara, Eric Bana, and Vanessa Redgrave.


CHIEF O'NEILL

CHIEF O'NEILL

Author: RONAN. O'DRISCOLL

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781838254407

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Book Synopsis CHIEF O'NEILL by : RONAN. O'DRISCOLL

Download or read book CHIEF O'NEILL written by RONAN. O'DRISCOLL and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Migration and the Making of Ireland

Migration and the Making of Ireland

Author: Bryan Fanning

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2021-11-02

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 0253059283

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Ireland has been shaped by centuries of emigration as millions escaped poverty, famine, religious persecution, and war. But what happens when we reconsider this well-worn history by exploring the ways Ireland has also been shaped by immigration? From slave markets in Viking Dublin to social media use by modern asylum seekers, Migration and the Making of Ireland identifies the political, religious, and cultural factors that have influenced immigration to Ireland over the span of four centuries. A senior scholar of migration and social policy, Bryan Fanning offers a rich understanding of the lived experiences of immigrants. Using firsthand accounts of those who navigate citizenship entitlements, gender rights, and religious and cultural differences in Ireland, Fanning reveals a key yet understudied aspect of Irish history. Engaging and eloquent, Migration and the Making of Ireland provides long overdue consideration to those who made new lives in Ireland even as they made Ireland new.


Book Synopsis Migration and the Making of Ireland by : Bryan Fanning

Download or read book Migration and the Making of Ireland written by Bryan Fanning and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2021-11-02 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ireland has been shaped by centuries of emigration as millions escaped poverty, famine, religious persecution, and war. But what happens when we reconsider this well-worn history by exploring the ways Ireland has also been shaped by immigration? From slave markets in Viking Dublin to social media use by modern asylum seekers, Migration and the Making of Ireland identifies the political, religious, and cultural factors that have influenced immigration to Ireland over the span of four centuries. A senior scholar of migration and social policy, Bryan Fanning offers a rich understanding of the lived experiences of immigrants. Using firsthand accounts of those who navigate citizenship entitlements, gender rights, and religious and cultural differences in Ireland, Fanning reveals a key yet understudied aspect of Irish history. Engaging and eloquent, Migration and the Making of Ireland provides long overdue consideration to those who made new lives in Ireland even as they made Ireland new.


Phineas Finn, the Irish Member

Phineas Finn, the Irish Member

Author: Anthony Trollope

Publisher:

Published: 1868

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Phineas Finn, the Irish Member by : Anthony Trollope

Download or read book Phineas Finn, the Irish Member written by Anthony Trollope and published by . This book was released on 1868 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: