'a hymn to the simple pleasures of growing up in small-town Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s. The tenor is upbeat and positive and it is a joy to read, chronicling as it does the intricate web of loyalties to family and parish that bound a community together.Populated by lively characters who would not be out of place in a Dickens novel. This book bursts with vitality and lovingly records the lives of the common people of Corca Dhuibhne at fairs and markets, wakes and weddings, bonfire nights and Wren days. In writing it, Joe O'Toole has done us all a service.'
-- Eugene McEldowney - The Irish Times * The Irish Times *
'A wonderful collection of childhood and teenage memories ... Joe's very own Fiche Blian ag Fas.'
-- The Kingdom
'A well-written and delightful read.'
-- Irish Independent * Irish Independent *
'It is a beautifully told story of a happy childhood ... a brilliant account.'
-- Shane Ross - Sunday Independent * The Sunday Independent *
'This fascinating book, once opened, is difficult to close.'
-- Kerry's Eye * Kerry's Eye *
'peopled with earthy, larger-than-life characters from Joe's childhood and personal histories that a sometimes tragic, sometimes comic, but always interesting.'
-- Irish Farmer's Monthly * Irish Farmers Monthly *
'A well-written and delightful read.'
-- Irish Independent * Irish Independent *
'O'Toole writes with a little imagination and more than a little humour. Never veers from the frank and honest route it sets out on and that makes it something of a gem.'
-- Micheal Clifford
'a hymn to the simple pleasures of growing up in small-town Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s. The tenor is upbeat and positive and it is a joy to read, chronicling as it does the intricate web of loyalties to family and parish that bound a community together. Populated by lively characters who would not be out of place in a Dickens novel. This book bursts with vitality and lovingly records the lives of the common people of Corca Dhuibhne at fairs and markets, wakes and weddings, bonfire nights and Wren days. In writing it, Joe O'Toole has done us all a service.'
-- Eugene McEldowney - The Irish Times * The Irish Times *
'It is a beautifully told story of a happy childhood ... a brilliant account.'
-- Sunday Independent * The Sunday Independent *
'This fascinating book, once opened, is difficult to close.'
-- Kerry's Eye * Kerry's Eye *
'A wonderful collection of childhood and teenage memories ... Joe's very own Fiche Blian ag Fas.'
-- The Kingdom