Balcraheen

About the Book

The story is set in a small village in the south of Ireland in the late 1940s. To the outside world Balcraheen appears an idyllic little oasis nestling on the edge of the mighty Shannon river and surrounded by all kinds of beauty. It's beauty, however, is only skin-deep, for behind the village's twitching curtains, it's gossiping shop counters and it's sneering street corners a drama of hate, viciousness and intolerance is played out.
The story centres around two familes, the down on their luck Sweeney's and their near neighbours the well-to-do farming family, the Scanlans.
On the brink of becoming an alcoholic, Pako Sweeney makes valiant efforts to come to terms with a life of temperance. At this time when he is at his most vulnerable he suddenly finds himself unwittingly involved in a liaison that threatens to destroy himself and his family. Out of his past comes Judy Carey, his sweetheart of twenty years ago when she a Protestant and he a Catholic caused a furore in the parish because of their religious backgrounds. Eventually the pair were driven apart and Judy went to America. But now she has come home to Balcraheen where circumstances conspire to bring them together again reviving all the old bitterness and controversy of the past. Entwined in the story are several other characters, all with their own problems but they are also drawn into the conflict and forced to take sides; Canon O'Hara, who rules the parish with an iron fist, his long suffering curate and the spiteful housekeeper, Biddy Donovan are among the central characters. There is the colourful traveling man, Gypsy Jack and Muller Mulryan, the village character, work shy and devious, the quiet farmer, Dan Scanlan, the penniless servant boy, Billy Casey and a greyhound that causes a few upsets.
Balcraheen is a compelling tale of a Shannon side village out of the mists of time.

About the Author

Born in Castleconnell, Co Limerick in 1943, the author, Joe Carroll is no stranger to the writing circle. He has had many short stories and articles published and was a winner of the E.S.B. National Short Story Competition in 1996.
He has written three other books - two local histories and his autobiography "No Lock On The Door" - his growing years in Castleconnell. Balcraheen is his first venture into novel writing.