BOOK REVIEWS: 1. "Donegal Fairy Stories," by Seamus MacMANUS, ed. by Joseph A. GREENLEAF (Swordpoint Intercontinental Ltd, Malin Head, Co. Donegal, ISBN 0-944530-0-X, p/b 8.99 euros). In 1900, aged 30, Seamus MacMANUS wrote down, in English, the folktales he heard in Donegal, in Irish, before he emigrated to the USA. That same year, the American publishers Doubleday Page and Co. published the stories, with illustrations in the manner of the times, by Frank VERBECK. In this new edition, the original drawings, digitally enhanced and restored are used and the text is lightly edited, removing some archaic words and sentence structures. You have to read them out loud, of course -- "Once on a time there was a King an Queen in Ireland and they had one son named Jack...." Easier to understand and the cover has an illustration of a beautiful fairy in a field of flowers, a dolmen in the background. 2. "A Companion to the Causeway Coast Way, A Comprehensive Guide to the Walk from Portstewart to Ballycastle," by Philip S. WATSON, "The Blackstaff Press, p/b. Per review, a lot of thought has gone into the physical construction of this book, its cover, paper and binding, so as to present a huge amount of information, maps and illustrations, all in full colour as well as elegantly as possible. Ports, ships, seabirds, trams, mines, quarries, causeways, bridges, castles, myths and legends are placed as sweetly as flowers in a summer meadow between Portstewart, Portrush, Portballintrae, Ballintoy and Ballycastle. The effect is irresistible. 3. "The Hook Peninsula," by Billy COLFER, Cork University Press, large format h/b. This is the second volume of a splendid series which expands and builds on the "The Atlas Of The Irish Rural Landscape," pub. 1997. In Billy COLFER's book the subject is the relationship between landscape and nature and culture, in a small wonderfully rich and varied neck of land on the Wexford coast. There is an eye for detail and an intuitive understanding of the place and its people backed up by a wealth of knowledge and scholarship. Billy COLFER loves the Hook peninsula and his affection shines on every page. The many illustrations are carefully chosen and beautifully reproduced. Many contemporary drawings and photographs are the author's own work. The Hook, one way and another, has been celebrated by the likes of Edmund SPENSER in "The Faerie Queen," and by Nobel Laureate Seamus HEANEY in his poem "The Peninsula." Billy COLFER can hold his head high in such grand company. 4. "He Lived With A Mountain," by John McGOURTY, "Flo' Publishing, 86 Park View, Wembley, Middlesex HA9 6JX, England, ISBN 0-9544658, p.b. 15 pounds. "It was a lovely, sunny, September evening, and the clean, cleared fields showed that the farmers had gathered in all their hay and silage for the winter feeding. As I came through the cutting in Nutley's Hill, Cuilcagh slowly reveled itself seated there in all its majesty, like an ancient god..... " A story about a beautiful and remote land on the Fermanagh border. Hardship endured by children of nine and ten foddering sheep in winter, digging drains and roads. Their story, John's story, is extraordinary. Read this book for the words of half-remembered rhymes, for an account of times and experiences half-forgotten or maybe, luckily, never encountered, for a life punctuated by the snows of 1947, the sinking of the Princess Victoria, Down's All-Ireland victory, Queen Elizabeth's coronation, leaving home for joy, for l! ove of family and friends. 5. "Providence My Guide, The Heroic Force in The Knock Shrine Story," by Dame Judy COYNE, Mercier Press, p/b. Privileged, well-off, young, beautiful, Judy COYNE, and her husband Liam, just returned from a Paris honeymoon, arranged to meet some friends in the relatively littlie known town of Knock, Co. Mayo in 1929. Inspired by the experience, they founded the Knock Shrine Society in 1935 and embarked with dozens of devoted colleagues, friends and neighbours on a life-long adventure. That Knock is now an important Christian place of pilgrimage, receiving more than 1-1/2 million visitors in a single year is in no small measure due to this intrepid lady. This is an interesting, indeed unique, account of the development of the pilgrimage, illustrated with photographs from a private collection. 6. "Lady Icarus, The Life of Irish Aviator Lady Mary HEATH," by Lindie NAUGHTON, Ashfield Press/30 Linden Grove, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, p.b. The life of Sophia Theresa Catherine Mary PIERCE, later Lady Mary HEATH, later Mrs. Mary WILLIAMS was quite extraordinary. Born in Newcastle West in Ireland in 1896, she died in an accident while travelling by tram in London in 1939, not quite 43 years of age. She qualified as an Associate of the Royal College of Science in Ireland and conducted a successful career in athletics at an international level until 1925. A recognised and published authority on exercise and athletics for women, she was also a pioneer pilot, gaining her private licence in 1925. Brain surgery was necessitated by a serious accident she suffered when flying in preparation for the American National Air Races in Cleveland in 1929 .... She deserves to be rescued from oblivion and we are indebted to Lindie NAUGHTON for this book.