Tir Na Nog

This is a book of pure entertainment that is also a rich and valuable social record. Nancy Chambers has the unique ability to transport herself back in time and be the nine year old child she once was. A gifted storyteller with a wonderfully vivid memory, she grew up in The Burren in North Clare, and here she gives us a sparkling and moving account of her post-war childhood days on a simple farm in rural Ireland, trying to make sense of the world around her and contrasting how children and adults see the same situations differently. This book has a classic timeless quality; hard work, spirituality, neighbourliness, how the Celts and times long past have shaped our lives today and the natural old-fashioned ways of life that create a sense of being and community. These were times when people provided their own entertainment and 'bonded' with nature. It transports you back to an era of homely good humour and amusing 'characters' full of eccentricities. Nancy gives us superb descriptions of the skylark, a moving funeral, the traumatic killing of the pig, peat cutting, being chased by the bull and her hilarious collection of the goose.