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Review of the latest Irish non-fiction books

By
TOM DEIGNAN,
Irish America Magazine Columnist

Published Thursday, May 28, 2009, 12:27 PM
Updated Monday, May 23, 2011, 4:10 PM

 

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“Ancestral Links: A Golf Obsession Spanning Generations” by John Garrity
“Ancestral Links: A Golf Obsession Spanning Generations” by John Garrity

Ancestral Links

On the heels of “A Course Called Ireland” comes another book about Ireland, Irish-Americans and golf: “Ancestral Links: A Golf Obsession Spanning Generations” by John Garrity.

Garrity, who writes for Sports Illustrated, travels to Ireland to see where his great-grandfather came from.  The ancestral home site is now, it turns out, home to a new golf course.

Garrity also goes to Scotland, where some of his mother’s ancestors came from.

In the end, Garrity explores how his family – as well as Ireland – was literally and metaphorically shaped by the game of golf.

($24.95 / 292 pages / New American Library)

 

Angels in My Hair

For those who loved “Touched by an Angel” (or even the current CBS show “The Ghost Whisperer”), “Angels in My Hair” by Lorna Byrne will probably be a fascinating read.

The author says she has seen angels since she was a young child growing up poor in Ireland. Not surprisingly, many people believed young Lorna had mental problems. 

These days, however, people seek her out for guidance or comfort, or to even see if they can contact a deceased loved one.

Along the way we also learn that Lorna, despite being poor and ostracized, found the love of her life, a blessing which was ultimately ended by tragedy.

Suffice to say, “Angels in my Hair” is not for everyone. Some may find the mystical qualities of the book hard to take. But if you miss Roma Downey as an angel, Lorna Byrne might just make a fine substitute. 

($24.95 / 303 pages / Doubleday)

 

Bond of Union

The Irish role in one of early America’s most important and ambitious construction projects is explored in “Bond of Union: Building the Erie Canal and The American Empire” by Gerard Koeppel. 

There was once a saying – you need four things to build a canal: a pick, a shovel, a wheelbarrow and an Irishman.

All in all, it is believed that as many as 5,000 Irish immigrants helped build the Erie Canal, which linked New York City and the Atlantic Ocean with the interior United States. 

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