A Bitter Wind - Joe Mc Gowan

This book takes us on a journey into the secret heart of Irish country life in the 20th century.  Beginning with an account of the villagers’ death-defying efforts to recover wreckage from an unforgiving ocean, A Bitter Wind is an intriguing ramble through an Ireland that no longer exists.  Unfolded here are the beliefs of ordinary people, their superstitions, customs, fears and joys, their struggle to extract a living from the ruthless extremes of Nature on land, sea and shore.  Here we re-live the adventures of ordinary individuals who, in snatching a livelihood from the elements, lived extraordinary lives.

The Irish held on to their faith through persecution and famine — but they clung also to the numerous beliefs and ritual practices, remnants of the Old Religions, that protected them against the unrelenting elements, seen and unseen.  Here you will meet the bewitched hares that stole milk from the farmer’s cows and learn of the preventive measures and antidotes used against them.  Stories of the Evil Eye, red-haired women and the seachrán ramble through the pages: all an integral part of the warp and weft of everyday life not so long ago.  Home grown remedies for toothache, arthritis, mumps, ‘elf-shot’ cows and many other ailments are shown and much, much more…

284 pages with 16 pages of colour photographs