Book description
Bryan Gallagher's reminiscences of the Ireland of his youth, first
heard on Radio 4's 'Home Truths', transport you to a world of boyhood
pranks, playground politics and the confusion of growing up in a land
that is every bit as magical and captivating as the stories he has to tell.
Barefoot in Mullyneeny is Bryan Gallagher's evocative tale of a
childhood remembered through the people and landscape of Fermanagh, near
the beautiful shores of Lough Erne in Ireland. Bryan chronicles a time
when all the big boys went to school in bare feet and secretly watched
the Saturday night bands and dances in halls lit by Tilley lamps; where
it was known to be nothing less than the biblical truth that if you put
a horse-hair across the palm of your hand when you were about to be
punished at school, the cane would split in two.
Gallagher's writing will touch the hearts of those who long for the
innocence of childhood and the simplicity of an era long past. Whether
relating tales of murderous bicycle chases through the darkened streets
of Cavan, of ghosts and fairy forts or the anguish of emigration, this
remarkable memoir vividly recreates life in rural Ireland in the 1940s
and 50s.
For those who thought that life in Ireland was one of the poverty and
misery of James Joyce or Frank McCourt, Barefoot in Mullyneeny offers a
view of the Ireland of yesteryear that combines the touching, homely
nostalgia of Nigel Slater's Toast and Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie with
a humorous optimism that is unmistakably Ireland at its best. Bryan
Gallagher is a retired headmaster who has spent his whole life living in
the county of Fermanagh, Ireland, near the beautiful shores of Lough Erne.
Bryan lives with his wife Maeve in Enniskillen and have five children:
two daughters, Ciara and Riana, as well as three sons, Bryan Og, Declan
and Garvan. Bryan still plays for his band, and the three boys join
their father on stage on the very special occasions when the Starlight
Band is re-formed.
Bryan Gallagher can now be heard as a regular columnist on Home Truths
on Radio 4.
