Thursday 15 December 2016

Ireland's Haunted Heritage Examined in New Book and DVD

The Rising of Haunted Ireland by GhostÉire - front cover
A journey into the heart of haunted Ireland awaits the reader in The Rising of Haunted Ireland by Anthony Kerrigan, Sinead Houlihan and Jenifer Kerrigan, published by The Manuscript Publisher. The authors belong to a team of paranormal investigators (GhostÉire) based in the south-west of Ireland, who describe their goal as being to find spiritual and scientific reasons for the paranormal, the supernatural and similarly unexplained phenomena.

Their pursuit of this objective has taken them to locations the length and breadth of Ireland, investigating possible hauntings and supernatural occurrences. In this report of their findings, a world of whispering lighthouses, misty islands, mind-bending gaols, vanished forts and public houses where the spirits flow a little too unaccountably, all await the reader. Tales of sailors, smugglers, pirate queens, Irish rebels, Vikings and spies also punctuate the narrative.

The bulk of the presentation comprises precise, detailed, often graphic descriptions of paranormal investigations, typically undertaken during the dark and eery hours in some of the remotest and inhospitable places imaginable. Adding to the authenticity, a 98-minute DVD accompanies this 340 page volume, which is fully illustrated throughout with photos, maps, diagrams and layouts of the investigated locations.

It is a book that will serve as a concise introduction to the world of paranormal investigations: the terminology, the techniques, tools of the trade employed and the rationale that informs the view of practitioners. The material is presented in a style that should interest the skeptic as much as the believer, along with those who simply wish to draw their own conclusions. It also offers something in the way of a tourist guide with a difference – a must read for anyone contemplating a weekend break or excursion to some very interesting 'haunts', both on and off the beaten track.

Finally, this book and DVD collection is not for the fainthearted. It does come with a warning that it is suitable only for ages 16 and older, containing as it does, some strong language and possibly disturbing themes. So, if that does not scare you off, it is available to buy now, in both hardcover and paperback editions, with an e-book edition to follow soon. Further information is available from the websites of GhostÉire and The Manuscript Publisher.

Tuesday 13 December 2016

No Spare Life by Rosaleen Glennon: a journey through cancer

No Spare Life: one woman's journey through cancer by Rosaleen Glennon was launched over the weekend at the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin. As would be evident from the title, it is a book that charts the author's personal battles and the progression, from diagnosis, through treatment with chemotherapy, recovery and the renewed appreciation for life that comes with it all.

In his Introduction, author Dermot Bolger says, "The overriding emotion which resonates from these pages is a resilient, hard earned sense of hope and a starkly fresh new way of seeing things by an author who was aware that, at times, she did not know if she would live to see certain things again."

Born in Dublin, now residing in Co. Roscommon, Rosaleen had been living in Germany when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2010.
On gleaning the news after a biopsy, I went into a spin. I don't remember leaving the doctor's office on the third floor of the hospital and getting into the lift. I began to think again when the lift doors opened and I stepped out on the ground floor. I turned round three times on the spot and thought. "What am I going to do now? Does he mean I should get my affairs in order?" I almost laughed at my own thinking. I realised that we have absolutely no control. We might think we have, but we don't.

Before Rosaleen was ever a cancer survivor, "she was so many other things, including a gifted writer," says Dermot Bolger and it was through writing about the experience of what she was going through and keeping a record of her life that she was able 'to honour it – the cancer'.
I realise everybody's experience of cancer is different but I want to publish what I have written ... to share what happened to me, so that it might help other people who have had such a diagnosis as well as their families and friends. I hope it helps.

No Spare Life by Rosaleen Glennon is a collection of poetry and short prose pieces that is also very tastefully illustrated throughout, in full colour. It is on sale now. RRP €12. For more information, see the author's website.

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