Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle [Paperback]

David A. Wilson (Author), Justin Palmer (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1995

Cycling around Ireland in search of traditional music, a tin whistle in his saddlebag, David Wilson follows the coastline from Presbyterian Islandmagee to Gaelic Cape Clear and back up north from Dublin to Belfast. Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle takes us on a journey across wild open spaces and through crowded pubs and festivals that pulse with energy and life. This is the Ireland of fiddles, harps and flutes, butterflies on bog roads, Country-and-Irish songs, Ulster Fries, storytelling, yarn spinning, and jigs and reels to the crack of dawn. As he travels through the North, Wilson gets beneath the political surface to portray both the tragedy and comedy of everyday life in the Protestant and Catholic communities. Aware of the polarized image that each side has of the other, he emphasizes the importance of finding common ground and of asserting the middle against the extremes. Just as traditional Irish music is characterized by ornamentations and elaborations on a melodic theme, Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle is full of variations and wanderings on the theme of the trip itself. And just as traditional Irish musicians will follow a sad slow air with a lively foot-tapping reel, Wilson's mood ranges from the nostalgic and reflective to the irreverent and mischievous. If there is a lament in one ear, there is a song in the other.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wilson, who was born in Ireland and is now an assistant professor of Celtic studies at St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, starts his ramble near the old Belfast homestead armed only with his bicycle and tin whistle in order ``to be closer to the spirit of the place... [and] the piece.'' His venture with music turns rough as drunken Orangemen with a bent for John Denver music insist he must know ``Country Road.'' It's on to Cushendall and Johnny Joe's Pub where the session is jammed and only the magic of his tin whistle gains him entrance through a side window. As he wheels into Donegal, he begins to suffer from the dreaded ``Penile Numbness Syndrome,'' a disease well-known to the avid male cycler. Here Wilson supplies a basic, albeit hilarious, Gaelic lesson on finding the right bathroom (fir for men; mna for women). A life full of B&Bs leaves him immune to the Ulster Fry--``a veritable festival of cholesterol''--and he survives food poisoning and flat tires on his swing through the southwest. The author's comments on Irish music are delightful and erudite. Unfortunately, the book is marred by the litany of hangovers (he admits he ``travelled from Cork to Dublin in an alcoholic fog, remembering nothing'') and his incessant comments on Irish politics--particularly his sanitized version of the famine--which are simplistic with a definitive Orange bias.

Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Wilson writes of Ireland and its people with wit, humour, imagination, and empathy and in a style that reveals the Irish love and understanding of language." Max Ferguson, host of The Max Ferguson Show, CBC Stereo Network.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773513442
• ISBN-13: 978-0773513440
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,193,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get me bike!, February 6, 2002

By 

Teddy Sullivan (Overland Park, KS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle (Paperback)

I've been to Ireland twice and when I go I never have a hotel reservation, a set itinerary or a care in the world. I immerse myself in the culture and people of Ireland and go where the locals/journey takes me.

Before I go I like to read about similar journeys through the greatest country on the planet. Mr. Wilson has captured what it's like to travel through the countryside, cities and coastal villages of Ireland. It's not just the scenery that endears people to the emerald isle... it's the people, their sense of humor, outlook on life and how they spend their day.

If you want a book that puts you in the middle of an Irish pub with a "three-pint-buzz", listening to traditional music with perma-grin on your face... then grab Mr. Wilson's tale of his Irish Journey. A great read for the plane ride over.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great road trip with a fine soundtrack, February 10, 2004

By 

Lilting Banshee (Roseburg, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle (Paperback)

Lucky for us, Mr. Wilson stops drinking enough for most of the trip to tell us of his musical journey round the coast of Ireland. He writes well and integrates some Irish history into his personal experiences. Best of all he seems to hit all the musical hotspots on the west coast from Donegal, where he hears Altan, past Sligo and Westport and Matt Molloy's pub to Clifden, where he hears Kevin Burke and Andy Irvine in a pub session, down the coast to the once wonderful Doolin where he hears a loser singing James Taylor songs, then on to the traditional music mecca of Miltown Malbay and the Willie Clancy festival. His descriptions of sessions are great and he knows his tunes. He works in some history of Irish music as he pedals his bike through potholes, up hills in blasting rain, and across sunny vistas. There's some laugh out loud humor but he doesn't imitate the Dave Barry style (as in McCarthy's Bar). Too often he descends into drunken oblivion and tells us all about it, as if to make sure we appreciate the truth behind the stereotype of the drunken Irish. Minus a star for the hangovers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For All Who Love Irish Music, February 12, 2006

By 

Virginia Allain "(retired librarian)" (Poinciana, FL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle (Paperback)

"Cycling around Ireland in search of traditional music, David Wilson follows the coastline from Presbyterian Islandmagee to Gaelic Cape Clear and back up north from Dublin to Belfast. Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle takes us on a journey across wild open spaces and through crowded pubs and festivals that pulse with energy and life. This is the Ireland of... More fiddles, harps, and flutes, butterflies on bog roads, Country-and-Irish songs, Ulster Fries, storytelling, yarnspinning, and jigs and reels to the crack of dawn. As he travels through the North, Wilson gets beneath the surface to portray both the tragedy and comedy of everyday life inside the Protestant and Catholic communities. Aware of the polarized image that each side has of the other, he emphasizes the importance of finding common ground and asserting the middle against the extremes. Just as traditional Irish music is characterized by ornamentations and elaborations on a melodic theme, Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tin Whistle is full of variations and wanderings on the theme of the trip itself. And just as traditional Irish musicians will follow a sad slow air with a lively foot-tapping reel, Wilson's mood ranges from the nostalgic and reflective to the irreverent and mischievous. If there is a lament in one ear, there is always a song in the other." (review from MSN Shopping site)

"Ireland, a Bicycle and a Tin Whistle is part travelogue, part social commentary, with a bit of history, a lot of Irish character and a strong thread of music running throughout. Wilson's colorful, descriptive prose at times approaches poetry in its style. Read this book for a real slice of Irish culture; it will sharpen your desire to see Ireland and its people for yourself, or it will bring your own memories of Ireland into distinct and vivid focus.
Whether or not you've been to Ireland, whether or not you ever plan to go, you could do much worse for yourself than to see it through Wilson's eyes." (review from Rambles - A Cultural Arts Magazine)