The Things We've Handed Down

This book is the antithesis of the Irish misery memoir. It is an inspirational and joyous celebration of courage and resilience in the face of adversity; an account of how a couple managed to raise seven children in a happy, carefree environment while encountering a potentially disastrous sequence of set-backs and tragedies during the first fifteen years of their marriage. The book provides a vivid description of life in the rural west of Ireland during the 50s and 60s and is an uplifting celebration of the happy family, hitherto grossly unrepresented in Irish writing.