Life and Tradition in Rural Ireland

This is the ninth volume of Messrs. Dents' Life and Tradition series, and is a worthy successor to those already published, with good paper, handsome type, clear illustrations and sound binding. The subject matter, too, is worthy of the book's fine finish, a concise and well-written account of the appurtenances of rural life in Ireland, mainly in the nineteenth century but with useful projections into early modern, medieval and even prehistoric times, both to emphasize the extraordinary continuity of Irish folk life and to draw attention to the constant stream of influences and innovations from abroad which have affected Ireland over the millennia. There is a wealth of detail in the text. Perhaps best of all is the chapter on Transport. Other chapters, such as those on Furniture and on the Year's Work summarize aspects of Irish life hitherto neglected, and so fill long-felt needs. Some may question the suitability of including the whole of Irish rural life and tradition in one volume of a series which has already devoted three volumes to three different areas of Yorkshire. There are obvious advantages in a summary volume of the kind under review here-or its companion, Geraint Jenkins's Life and Tradition in Rural Wales. It can give a picture, if only in larger detail, of the whole, and it can point out obvious regional or other differences in tradition. The first of these-the general picture-is well outlined, and in some aspects well detailed in the present volume. There are, of course, omissions-there is always a limit to what may be

Sociology · Gender Studies · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Irish and British Studies

• Cultural Connections and Cheese

  Alan Gailey•Folk Life•1986

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• The dating of wooden troughs and dishes

  Caroline Earwood•Proceedings of the Society of…•1994

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