Serious SoundsSerious Sounds is a wonderful walk through the story of John Moriartys childhood growing up on a small farm in north Kerry, and his lifelong engagement with traditional Catholic sacraments, taking as his point of departure Philip Larkins poem Church Going a richly meditative essay of extraordinary resonance that begins with a visit to the island of Inis Fallen on Loch Leine: People say we live in a time of ritual deprivation. Not so people of my age

It represents the life and dreams of Patrick Maguire

and its active working years from 1818 to 1845 – a troubled period of Irish history

From the noble strength of Áed to the poetic elegance of Áine

pirates and traders

an elderly busker playing a tin whistle in Merchants Arch

in Dublin he spent his childhood in Athy

while others have been specially commissioned for this book

Grattan made a dramatic political comeback as a Westminster MP

The man they called Paddy Mo conducted comprehensive and difficult industrial relations negotiations with the trade unions

The Leaves on Grey is the story of Ireland

Some of them will go so far as to explain how and why I ended up a traitor … Do not trust my enemies

Following the battle of the Diamond in County Armagh and the formation of the Orange Order in September 1795