City of the Tribes

By Walter Macken and Ultan Macken

These stories, rich with the passion and drama which characterises all of Walter Macken’s writing, were conceived by the author as a thematic collection, providing a stunning evocation of the life and people of Galway in the 1940s. They document a time and place, yet they also have a timeless appeal in their portrayal of the people of the city whom Macken knew and loved so well. Full of insight and humour, they do not romanticise the past; rather they celebrate the qualities of ordinary people in their struggles with poverty, with political conservatism and with the sea, ever-present elements in the life of the city of the tribes.

Walter Macken has long been one of Ireland’s most popular writers. A novelist who defined in fiction the world of the ‘plain people’ of the west of Ireland, he was a master of the short story.

First published posthumously in 1997, these magnificent stories are now brought back to life in the Modern Irish Classics series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Island Books
• Release date: Aug 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781848407640

Walter Macken

Walter Macken was born in Galway in 1915. He was a writer of short stories, novels and plays. Originally an actor, principally with the Taibhdhearc in Galway, and The Abbey Theatre, he played lead roles on Broadway in M. J. Molloy's The King of Friday's Men and his own play Home Is the Hero. He also acted in films, notably in Arthur Dreifuss' adaptation of Brendan Behan's The Quare Fellow. He is perhaps best known for his trilogy of Irish historical novels Seek the Fair Land, The Silent People and The Scorching Wind. He passed away in 1967.

Reviews for City of the Tribes

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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