The Fields of Athenry: An Irish Saga by James Charles Roy

Economic transformation

The story of Ireland's economic transformation told through the lens of the author's personal experience renovating a run-down castle in County Galway. In this text, James Charles Roy leads us through the Irish past and present with the central theme of his own personal experience with the renovation of a run-down castle that he purchased more than 30 years ago.

Personal story

James Charles Roy weaves his personal story into a wide-ranging historical conversation, leading us to question what attracts us - or perhaps more aptly him - the rubble of a castle from Irish days long past. The old tower house and the rich agricultural lands it guards has witnessed every strand of Irish history, from the heroic exploits of Celtic warriors long celebrated by Yeats and Lady Gregory, through the Easter Rising of 1916 when IRA insurgents used the building as a lookout. It stands today as a powerful, timeless symbol of the tumultuous ebb and flow of fortune, both good and bad, that characterizes Irish history.

Renovation of Moyode

James Charles Roy weaves his personal story of the purchase and renovation of Moyode into a wide ranging historical conversation, leading us to a topic of real interest to Ireland today and our sense of history more broadly - the historical nostalgia we attach to Ireland and the fact that our romantic image flies directly in the face of development and boom times in the "Celtic Tiger" of the 21st century.

Fields of Athenry

Publisher: Westview Press
ISBN: 0813338603

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