The River Shannon

Follow the river Shannon by Frank Delaney

 

Frank Delaney continues to astound me. He tackles what appears to be from the title, a massive and overwhelming history lesson of the River Shannon in Ireland.  The story is set in 1922, shortly after World War I and just at the beginning of the Irish Civil War. Both of these historic events play an integral role in the story.  Similar to his previous novel, Ireland, he introduces his main character, a Father Robert Shannon, which enables him to weave the two stories into one.  The River Shannon, her beauty, her legends, and her lore, give comfort to Fr.  Shannon, who is inspired by the words of his mentor: "Find your soul and you'll live." Father Shannon has been sent to Ireland by the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal O'Connell, to trace his family roots as a means to recovering from his traumatic experience at the Battle of Belleau Wood in France. Shannon is suffering from "shell shock" or PTSD as we know it today. 

The River Shannon not only serves as a main character in the story, but it also serves as an allegory to Fr. Shannon's recovery.  The story begins simply enough as story of a young priest trying to recover his health, his mind and his soul by following the intricate and diverse path of the river.  His story becomes much more involved as Delaney gradually peals away the various layers of Father Shannon's experience in WWI, as well as his traumatic experience in the Boston diocese.  Delaney weaves together several historical events, the Battle of Belleau Wood, the Irish Civil War, the death of Michael Collins and the controversy surrounding Cardinal O'Connell of Boston.

Since Cardinal O'Connell has some ties to my family's history, I decided to research him to find out how much of this part of the novel was true.  Not surprisingly the core of this subplot in Shannon is quite accurate.  I guess it just goes to show that truth is stranger than fiction.  I would strongly recommend you follow Father Shannon's trek along the shores of the River Shannon.  Shannon is a timeless and unforgettable story of a troubled man's salvation, belief, duty, devotion - and the healing power of discovering one's true vocation.

The Irish Answer to James Herriot

The Irish Country Doctor Series Continues

Patrick Taylor is the Irish equivalent of James Herriott, the pen name of the British Veterinarian, who brought to life the unique and quirky humor of a veterinarian in rural England, through his All Creatures Great and Small series.  I continued my reading of this series this past summer.  Pardon my late entries.  Be assured I have stopped 

Taylor has done the same thing with his Irish Country Doctor series. Taylor, a medical doctor himself, places his young medical doctor, fresh out of Queen's College Medical School in Belfast, in a small country practice in the fictional village of Ballybucklebo, located just southeast of Belfast, near the coast.

Taylor continues his tremendous storytelling by focusing on Dr. O'Reilly's unflappable housekeeper, Kinky Kincaid, in An Irish Country Girl, the fourth segment in his series.  After reading his first novel in the series, An Irish Country Doctor, I knew I was hooked. This book series is like watching the addictive BBC series on PBS, Downton Abbey.       

The 5th in the series is An Irish Country Courtship.  At this point in the story, you are not quite sure whose courtship is going to be the focus, because both Dr. Fingal O'Flaherty and the young Dr. Barry Laverty have started relationships. Dr. Laverty is trying to recover from a breakup with his love, Patricia, who basically told him life as a general practitioner's wife in a backwater town is not for her. And Barry is starting to question whether he is cut out for life as a GP in a small village. So has Barry found a new love or has he managed to rekindle the embers from his relationship with Patricia.  

Don't forget Fingal!  He has rekindled a relationship with his first love Kitty O'Halloran, who he met years ago as young medical student.   

If you haven't tried this series, you need to pick up the first novel in the set, An Irish Country Doctor. You will fall in love with Taylor's cast of quirky characters and the trials and tribulations in the life of a GP in a small Northern Ireland village.