Kirjahaku

Tull MacAdoo TD is kept busy procuring jobs and IRA pensions for deserving voters and keeping his spendthrift son under control. Somehow he must also contest an election and save his reputation while holding fast to his personal philosophy: "Forage between honesty and crookedness and do the best you can'. Martin O'Mora, the Parish Priest of Lochnanane dispenses justice in his own inimitable way. While battling for the souls of his parishioners, he must also deal with his nephew's shaky vocation, a sex-crazed curate and an uncontrollable outbreak of inflatable dolls. The clients of Dicky Mick Dicky O'Connor require spouses who are willing, wealthy and in perfect working order – difficult to find in the underpopulated hinterlands of Ballybarra, but anything is possible for a gifted matchmaker.

John B. Keane was born in Listowel in 1928. Educated at St. Michael's College he has worked as a chemist's assistant, assistant to a fowl-buyer, furnace-operator and clerk. Son of a widely respected teacher W. B. Keane, John B. started to write seriously when he returned from England in 1953. He owns and runs a public house in Listowel, is married and has three sons. He has written many successful plays, the best known being Sive, Sharon's Grave, The Highest House on the Mountain, No More in Dust and now The Man From Clare. His other works include The Street (poems) and Many Young Men of Twenty a musical play. His works have been produced in Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, London and New York. He is resident dramatist of the Southern Theatre Group, one of Ireland's leading theatrical organisations. He writes a weekly column for the Limerick Leader and writes frequently for Radio. Critics are keenly divided about his place in theatre but nobody will deny that he is the best-known and most influential and prolific Irish writer of his generation. He (his own words) dislikes stuffed tomatoes but would swing for pigs' puddings, is working at the moment on a short novel, his first.

Leo Molair is a member of the guards and here we find him writing to his nephew who is also a guard but of a mere two years standing. Guard Molair is a mine of information about his people and knows more about them than they know themselves. After all he has been their guardian day and night for twenty-five years. Since his job has been created by the follies and weaknesses of his fellows, consequently folly and weakness dominate the greater part of this book. As his tale unfolds we discover that there are not as many innocent people as one would like to believe and we meet such characters as the Widow Hansel who is accused of indulging in black magic and other forms of witchcraft; Flash Maldook the greatest ladies man since Casanova, and having a guard's uniform was no disadvantage to him. There is the sergeant who thought he was a super and there are others with the odd names of 'Itchybum', 'Catsfoot' and 'Tiptoe through the Tulips'.

Is the Holy Ghost really a Kerryman? The obvious answer to this is: if he is not a Kerryman what is he? Is he just another ghost, a mere figment of the imagination like Hamlet's father, or is he something more sinister: a Corkman masquerading as a Kerryman or worse still a real Kerryman but having an inferiority complex; that is to say a Kerryman who thinks he's only the same as everybody else? John B. Keane does not look upon those who peruse the pages of this book of his as mere readers. Far from it. He looks upon them, whether they be old or young, as students of the passing scene and not just the passing scene alone but as undergraduates in the university of things unusual. Following the phenomenal success of John B. Keane's books, who can resist Keane on such varied topics as 'Wakes', 'Streaking', 'Epitaphs' and 'Long-Distance Talkers'? Nobody should miss reading this hilariously funny and entertaining book.From the author of the internationally renowned plays Sive, The Field and Many Young Men of Twenty.

From John B. Keane, the author of internationally renowned play, Sive. In this book we get a complete picture of life in Knockanee as seen through the eyes of a publican, Martin MacMeer. He relates his story to his friend Dan Stack who is a journalist. He records in a frank and factual way events like the cattle fair where the people 'came in from the hinterland with caps and ash-plants and long coats, - and the cattle stood outside the doors of the houses in the public streets'. Through his remarkable perception we 'get a tooth' for all the different characters whom he portrays with sympathy, understanding and wit. We are overwhelmed by the charms of the place where at times 'trivial incidents assume new proportions.' These incidents are exciting, gripping, hilarious, touching and uncomfortable. Once you have started to read it you will not be able to put it down and when you have finished it you will want almost immediately to read it again.

John B. Keane was born in Listowel in 1928. Listowel is a friendly Kerry town but like small towns throughout the world jobs are scarce. He joined the many one-way travellers to England. Eventually Keane returned to Listowel. He had saved some money which enabled him to buy a public house in the town. Up to this his writing consisted of short stories, poems and a few articles. Now he returned to the theatre. Here his natural sense of characterization created the atmosphere for so many years lost to Irish letters. 'Sive', with the insistent and haunting drum beat of the song he wrote for it, swept the country. With the success of Sive, John B. Keane's natural ability for entertaining emerged in a new light. There were more plays - Sharon's Grave, The Highest House on the Mountain, The Man from Clare, Many Young Men of Twenty, The Year of the Hiker, and The Field. His success can be traced to one simple yet startling fact - he writes for the Irish people. The mirror that he holds is one of good humoured and honest reality, tinged with the magic of the storyteller. John B. Keane looks around him and sees in everyday actions a wealth of traits ready-made for tickling and telling.

Every person who has read John B. Keane's bestseller Letters of a Successful T.D. will be familiar with the exploits of Tull MacAdoo who was a rural backbencher. In this book he becomes Minister for Bogland Areas with Special Responsibility for Game and Wildlife. He is a powerful, resourceful and cunning man who can get things done for his 'Number Ones' by 'using every trick in the book and some not in the book'. The reader will chuckle to himself as he enters the web of local intrigue and petty skullduggery among the rural politicians. We also meet Tull's family: his spendthrift son, Mick, at university who will make Tull the laughing stock of the constituency if he fails his exams again, his narrow-minded, martyred, hypochondriac wife who 'suffers from head to toe', and his best-loved child, Kate, in whom he confides his problems. There is also Tull's running feud with James Flannery, the local N.T. Although Tull is a little on the ignorant side he has learned his lessons in the Dail and deals with his opponent not in the most lawful way but in very effective ways.

John B. Keane was born in Listowel in 1928. Having worked in a variety of jobs in Ireland and England, he married and settled down to run a pub in his native town. Now he is recognised as a major Irish writer, who has written many successful plays - Sive, Sharon's Grave, The Highest House on the Mountain, The Man from Clare, The Year of the Hiker, Many Young Men of Twenty, Big Maggie, Moll and Self-Portrait, is his own story. This book follows his bestseller Letters of a Successful T.D. There is a riot of laughter in every page and its theme is the correspondence between a country parish priest and his nephew who is studying to be a priest. Fr. O'Mora has been referred to by one of his parishioner's as one who "is suffering from an overdose of racial memory aggravated by religious bigotry". J.B. Keane's humour is neatly pointed, racy of the soil and never forced. This book gives a picture of a way of life which though is in great part vanishing is still familiar to many of our country-men who still believe "that priests could turn them into goats". It brings out all the humour and pathos of Irish life. It is hilariously funny and will entertain and amuse everybody. This is definitely a "must" book for all.

'Illicit sex is bad for the heart. I do not say so personally but it is now widely believed in continental medical circles that sex without a license will put paid to the beating of the most consistent ticker. It was also accepted in a limited way by certain of the religious who, fair play to them, insisted for starters that it was bad for marriage first and for a number of other things afterwards...' A collection of hilarious essays Unlawful Sex and Other Testy Matters deals with all aspects of life in rural Ireland including 'Things that happen in Bed', 'Breaking Wind', 'Young Love', and 'Skillet Pots'. John B. Keane was born in Listowel in 1928. Having worked in a variety of jobs in Ireland and England, he married and settled down to run a pub in his native town. Now he is recognised as a major Irish writer, who has written many successful plays and books including, Sive, Sharon's Grave, The Field, The Man from Clare, Big Maggie, The Year of the Hiker, Many Young Men of Twenty, Moll, The Change in Mame Fadden, Values, The Crazy Wall, Self Portrait, Letters of a Successful T.D., Letters of an Irish Parish Priest, Letters of a Love-Hungry Farmer, Letters of a Matchmaker, Letters of a Civic Guard, Letters of a Country Postman, Is the Holy Ghost Really a Kerryman? and other items of interest, Death Be Not Proud, The Gentle Art of Matchmaking and other important things, Strong Tea.

There are more shades to John B. Keane's humour than there are colours in the rainbow. Wit, pathos, compassion, shrewdness and a glorious sense of fun and roguery are seen in this book. This fascinating exploration of the striking yet in tangible Irish characteristics show us Keane's sensitivity and deep understanding of everyday life in a rural community. John B. Keane draws our attention to both the comic and tragic effects of small town gossip in 'The Hanging' - a tale of accusation by silence in a small village - and 'The Change' - a carefully-etched comment on a town waking up to undiscovered sexuality. With his natural sense of character, a gift for observing and capturing traits he gives us a hilarious, mischievous and accurate portrait of the balance of justice in 'You're on Next Sunday' and 'A Tale of Two Furs'. We see his uncommon gift for creating characters and atmosphere in 'Death be not Proud' and 'The Fort Field'. Keane's magic, authentic language and recurrent humour weave their spells over the reader making this exciting book a 'must' for all Keane fans.

John B. Keane was born in Listowel in 1928. Having worked in a variety of jobs in Ireland and England, he married and settled down to run a pub in his native town. Now he is recognised as a major Irish writer, who has written many successful plays and books including; Sive, Sharon's Grave, The Field, The Man from Clare, Big Maggie, The Year of the Hiker, Many Young Men of Twenty, Moll, The Change in Mame Fadden, Values, The Crazy Wall, The Buds of Ballybunion, Letters of an Irish Minister of State, Letters of a Successful T.D., Letters of an Irish Parish Priest, Letters of a Love-Hungry Farmer, Letters of a Matchmaker, Letters of a Civic Guard, Letters of a Country Postman, Is the Holy Ghost Really a Kerryman? and other items of interest, Death Be Not Proud, The Gentle Art of Matchmaking and other important things, Strong Tea. Self-Portrait is his own story. First published in hardcover, the paperback edition will please John B. Keane's many admirers. It has all the humour and insight one would expect, but it has, too, the feeling of an Irish countryman for his traditional way of life, and his ideals for the Ireland he loves.

First presented by the Abbey Theatre during the Dublin Theatre Festival in September 1963, The Man from Clare is an Irish classic. The Man from Clare follows the personal tragedy of an aging athlete who finds he no longer has the physical strength to maintain his position as the captain of the team or his reputation as the best footballer in Clare. With a foreword by Dan Donovan.

'A Chastitute is a person without holy orders who has never lain down with a woman . . . a rustic celibate by force of circumstance peculiar to countrysides where the Catholic tradition of long-life sexual abstemiousness is encouraged and . . . free-range sex is absolutely taboo . . .' John Bosco, who hasn't the 'makings of a dacent sin in him', is a bachelor farmer and all is searching for is a plain decent woman to share his life. He 'nearly got there thousand times but nearly never bulled a cow'. The two things which militated most against his endeavours with the opposite sex were Missionaries and Townies.

Life is harsh in close-knit community of Dirrabeg, a community on the Dingle Peninsula facing extinction in the mid-1950's. Donal Hallpellyâ??s bodhran playing brings him into conflict with Canon Tett, the ultraconservative local priest, determined to stamp out the last vestiges of paganism in his community.

Durango is an adventure story about the great October cattle drive of Tubberlick. Set in rural Ireland during the Second World War, this novel features the themes of love, sex, money and betrayal. Durango has been produced as a film starring Brenda Fricker, Patrick Bergin and Pat Laffin.

This is the story of Dan Murray, who emigrated to England in 1952. He finds work as a building labourer and in time he becomes a building contractor.John B. Keane captures the turbulent, bawdy, anarchic life of Irish contractors and labourers as they try to make it big in England. Told in his usual hilarious and bulls-eye accurate style.

(Selected & Edited by Joanna Keane-O'Flynn) John B. Keane was a spirited, charismatic and generous man who will forever occupy a special niche in the hearts and minds of Irish people everywhere. This is a fascinating collection of many well-known John B Keane poems and, for the first time, his songs, selected and edited by his daughter Joanna. It includes; The Street, My Father, The Sive Song, Sweet Listowel, Many Young Men of Twenty, Kitty Curley and If I Were the Rose of Tralee - a must for all Keane fans.