The Book of Fifty Irish Writers
They were rogues, adventurers, idealists, romantics, shrinking violets, ego maniacs and all the other wonders and failures of human nature besides. The men and women of established Irish Literature were once living, breathing people – ‘The Book of Irish Writers' releases them from their dust jackets and brings them to life!
Through this chronological series of easily digestible short programmes, the listener will be led in a clear and entertaining way through what might be considered by some as a stuffy and academic subject – Irish Literature!
By illuminating the lives of our famous and forgotten writers – with all their foibles, weaknesses, triumphs and tragedies unveiled – the series will be a gripping listen for all those who enjoy social history, great characters and a good story!
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Chapter 06 - St Patrick, 5th Century
We all know Patrick as a Saint and a Scholar – but he also holds the honour of being the first Irish auto-biographer!
Patrick’s ‘Confession’ tells the remarkable story of how he was captured and sold into slavery in Ireland. Here he triumphs over great adversity and danger – including an attack from Satan!
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Chapter 07 - St Adoman, circa 627 to 704
Saint Adomnán was the ninth abbot of Iona – and he probably grew up in the area that we now know as Donegal. In the year 697 Adomnán gave the ‘Lex Innocentium’ to the Irish – the ‘Law of the Innocents’. We can be grateful to him for these laws as they set out punishments for those who hurt innocent bystanders during war – a first in the Christian world.
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Read the transcript of Lyrics from the 8th to the 11th Century here.
Chapter 08 - Lyrics from the 8th to the 11th Century
They can be found in the margins of illuminated manuscripts, in scraps surviving from greater documents, doodled or scribbled as if there was no time to lose – short simple poems that give us a tantalising glimpse of a moment far back in time.
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Chapter 09 - Gerald of Wales, around 1146 to 1223
Gerald of Wales was not a fan of the Irish! He spent some time in the country as the clerk to Prince John, Henry the II’s son, and the observations that he made were by no means flattering – in Gerald’s opinion the Irish were lazy, barbarous and savage (but at least they were quite good musicians).
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Chapter 10 - Edmund Spenser, 1552 to 1599
Edmund Spenser was an English poet. He’s best known for his epic poem in praise of the Tudor dynasty and Queen Elizabeth the 1st, ‘The Faerie Queen’. Spenser found himself making a career in Ireland when he had to flee here from England – having unwisely described one of the most powerful men in the land, Lord Burleigh, as a ‘foxe of practise slie’.
