Ghosts of Kilrush

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Title: Ghosts of Kilrush

Author:  Joe Riley

ISBN: 1928928137

Description:

Ghosts of Kilrush is the heart-felt memoir of a young English boy, abandoned by his father in small town in western Ireland, who was raised as a beloved son by an Irish family who treated him as their own. Joe Riley takes a look back at a dozen years after World War II as he affectionately recalls the world of Kilrush, County Clare, and it’s many colorful characters who influenced his childhood, including his Auntie May and Uncle Andrew DeLoughery, and their family, neighbors and friends. The stories about the many characters of the town will have the reader laughing out loud. The infamous Paddy Griffin, affectionately called “Pollock the liar” behind his back. John Joe and how he became a councilor. Paddy Hawes, the IRA barber who used the time cutting Riley’s hair to tell him the evils of being English. Contrasting these warm accounts is the story of his birth mother, whom Joe had not seen for six years, arriving for a visit and taking him ‘home’ to meet his other brothers and sisters. The horror he felt in their way of life compared to his and his happy return to Kilrush. This memoir is a tribute to Auntie May and Uncle Andrew, their family, and the community of Kilrush who all turned Joe Riley’s childhood from one of grim isolation into an experience of loving acceptance. This memoir was written as told to Alan C. Atkins, a friend of Joe Riley's in Manila, who is a professional writer and author.