Rating: 
Summary: Walking the Coast of Wisdom
Review: At a time when changes in the culture of Ireland began making the legends of the Tinkers extinct, Kevin O'Hara took his experiences with alientation from the Viet Nam War and transformed his close observations of beautiful people and landscapes into a remarkable tale of healing and insight. Much like the Canterbury tales, O'hara's stories are enlightening, revealing, and close to the balance of human truth. He has captured the essence of places and experiences that will never pass this way again. These stories read aloud in a way that will make anyone an Irish story teller. It is eaily imagined that this book could make its way into every night time story, livingroom book club, library reading series, and literate pub in America, not to mention Ireland, where it captured the attention of an adoring public. These are the unique stories of a very unique man who has been spinning these tales for decades from well garnered truths and enrapturing his listeners with soul searching, vision, and amazing obsevations that is couched in deep humor. This is a book that cannot be missed and should belong in every book collection in America as well as across the pond beacuse this is werhe we find so much of what we need to recapture the humanity that has fast slipped away in the digital age.
Rating:
Summary: From a Sci-Fi/Fantasy reader, nothing but praise
Review: I seldom stray from the safe haven of sci-fi/fantasy books, but the comical cover of this book drew me in. The relatable author kept me in, and kept my heart warmed throughout. Just tonight, I finished this book. After a long and weary day at work, I thought of what I could do to relieve the heavy burden of stress upon me. As is my nightly ritual, I cracked this book and headed for the home stretch, the last few chapters. With each chapter finish, my burden was releived. I laughed out loud, I got a little weepy, but I loved every sentence.To the author - Thank you for finishing this book!
Rating:
Summary: From a Sci-Fi/Fantasy reader, nothing but praise
Review: I seldom stray from the safe haven of sci-fi/fantasy books, but the comical cover of this book drew me in. The relatable author kept me in, and kept my heart warmed throughout. Just tonight, I finished this book. After a long and weary day at work, I thought of what I could do to relieve the heavy burden of stress upon me. As is my nightly ritual, I cracked this book and headed for the home stretch, the last few chapters. With each chapter finish, my burden was releived. I laughed out loud, I got a little weepy, but I loved every sentence. To the author - Thank you for finishing this book!
Rating:
Summary: Like Taking a Walk with a Friend
Review: Kevin O'Hara's book, "Last of the Donkey Pilgrims" was a wonderful anthology of all things Irish. Having ridden my bike clockwise around Ireland in 1988, reading Kevin's book was a walk down Memory Lane. For years I've tried to relate the kindness of the people of Ireland, the grand unselfishness and pure hearts of my ancestors. Kevin's descriptions and prose did it for me; he captured in this book what I've tried desperately to portray in my answers to questions about my own round-about. Having just finished the book, I feel a bit despondent though my husband and kids are grateful for my being done; they might actually see a meal on the table now that my nose is out of the book. It's a sign of an extraordinary book when the reader dreads the turning of the last page.
Rating:
Summary: Like Taking a Walk with a Friend
Review: Kevin O'Hara's book, "Last of the Donkey Pilgrims" was a wonderful anthology of all things Irish. Having ridden my bike clockwise around Ireland in 1988, reading Kevin's book was a walk down Memory Lane. For years I've tried to relate the kindness of the people of Ireland, the grand unselfishness and pure hearts of my ancestors. Kevin's descriptions and prose did it for me; he captured in this book what I've tried desperately to portray in my answers to questions about my own round-about. Having just finished the book, I feel a bit despondent though my husband and kids are grateful for my being done; they might actually see a meal on the table now that my nose is out of the book. It's a sign of an extraordinary book when the reader dreads the turning of the last page.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Whimsical Book Of Self Discovery!
Review: Only from a genuine son of Ireland could such a wonderfully whimsical book about a pilgrim's progress across its emerald expanse emerge. Kevin O'Hara grew up in a duplex on Wilson Street, a street or two away from me in quiet Pittsfield Massachusetts, the son of struggling immigrant parents who had a heady brood of children, an Irish Catholic family so large that Kevin and Dermott and several other of the boys caddied for extra clothes money when barely into their teens. As a fellow afternoon paperboy along with his older brother for the Berkshire Eagle, I gradually got to know the family pretty well, although they all went to the local parochial schools while we went to the public schools. And what a family of memorable characters they are! Returning from Vietnam on the late 1960s, like many of us, Kevin was restless, and while attending the local community college decided to reward himself after graduation in the registered nursing program with an extended sojourn in the 'olde country', attempting to find his roots and himself, and hoping to end the wanderlust by personally exorcising it in the flesh. And though his leap of exploration took some explaining to his spanking new young wife, he managed to carry it all off with a bit of his characteristic blarney and bravado, setting out on an impressively improvised journey of self-discovery even as he discovered the Irish people themselves. Indeed, what he discovered while shuffling across the land by way of a donkey cart was the truly the stuff of first novels; he was as Irish as the rest of the denizens of the land of the little people. After lolling about a bit and attempting rather humorously and disastrously to apprentice himself out as a thatcher, he eventually devises an ingenuous idea, to travel across the land with a donkey cart, retracing a old Irish tradition and living off the fabled generosity of the land and its people at the same time. In so doing, O'Hara unlocked a lot of doors, those of the trusting people who thrust open their doors and their hearths to him (and his four-legged friend), to aspects of his own personality that he had learned to bury and deliberately suppress over the years. On many levels then, this was a journey of both discovery and liberation. His footloose perambulation became a well-publicized event,followed closely both in local Irish papers as well as via intercommunity gossip, so he often found people alerted to his approach and more than willing to exchange some food and shelter for a chance to both learn more about his own journey and the discoveries he was making about their fellow countrymen. Amazingly, many of the common folk he spent time with had never been far over the horizon from theri farmhouses and villages, and were immensely curious about what in particular lay over the next hill, as to whether the neighboring counties were as clannish as they said, etc. So this psychically healing American-born Vietnam vet came to act as an ambassador among the Irish for the Irish as he wound his way through the valleys and hills of the emerald isle. I remember being regaled with such tales more than twenty years ago whenever I bumped into Kevin, whether it be at the local pub or just on the street, and he would always tell his tales with a twinkling eye and a storyteller's gift. He has been struggling to reduce it all to print for all these years. The fact is that he has succeeded rather marvelously, capturing the essence of a land which is too quickly evaporating from our midst. Ireland is changing, and many of the aspects Kevin describes so lovingly herein are vanishing. All of this simply amplifies one's reasons to treasure this wonderful set of well-organized and skillfully portrayed essays and observations from a fresh, vibrant, and singular voice, flowing from the pen of a singularly talented and genuinely Irish American writer from whom we all hope we can expect much more. I highly recommend this book. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Whimsical Book Of Self Discovery!
Review: Only from a genuine son of Ireland could such a wonderfully whimsical book about a pilgrim's progress across its emerald expanse emerge. Kevin O'Harahas been alifelong friend of mine, as he grew up in a duplex on Wilson Street, a street or two away from me in quiet Pittsfield Massachusetts, the bright and charismatic son of struggling immigrant parents who had a heady brood of children, an Irish Catholic family so large that Kevin, Dermott and several other of the O'Hara boys caddied for golfers to get extra clothes money when barely into their teens. As a fellow afternoon paperboy along with his older brother for the local paper, the Berkshire Eagle, I gradually got to know the family pretty well, although they all went to the local parochial schools while we went to the public schools. And what a family of memorable characters they are! Returning from Vietnam on the late 1960s, like many of us, Kevin was restless, and while attending the local community college decided to reward himself after graduation in the registered nursing program with an extended sojourn in the 'olde country', attempting to find his roots and himself, and hoping to end the wanderlust by exorcising it in the flesh. And though his leap of exploration took some explaining to his new young wife, he managed to carry it all off with a bit of blarney and bravado, setting out on an impressively improvised journey of self-discovery even as he discovered the Irish people themselves. Indeed, what he discovered while shuffling across the land in the company of a donkey was the stuff of first novels; he was soon became as Irish as the rest of the denizens of the land of the little people, passing among them as one their own. After lolling about a bit and attempting rather humorously and disastrously to apprentice himself out as a thatcher, he eventually devises an ingenuous idea, to travel across the land with a donkey cart, retracing a old Irish tradition and living off the fabled generosity of the land and its people at the same time. In so doing, O'Hara unlocked a lot of doors, those of the trusting people who thrust open their doors and their hearths to him (and his four-legged friend), to aspects of his own personality that he had learned to bury over the years. On many levels then, this was a journey of discovery and liberation. His footloose perambulation became a publicized event, both in local Irish papers and intercommunity gossip, so he often found people alerted to his approach and more than willing to exchange some food and shelter for a chance to both learn more about his own journey and the discoveries he was making about their fellow countrymen. Amazingly, many of the common folk he spent time with had never been far over the horizon, and were immensely curious about what lay over it, as to whether the neighboring counties were as clannish as they said, etc. So this psychically healing American-born Vietnam vet came to act as an ambassador among the Irish for the Irish as he wound his way through the valleys and hills of the emerald isle. I remember being regaled with such tales more than twenty years ago whenever I bumped into Kevin, whether it be at the local pub or just on the street, and he would always tell his tales with a twinkling eye and a storyteller's gift. He has been struggling to reduce it all to print for all these years. The fact is that he has succeeded rather marvelously, capturing the essence of a land which is too quickly evaporating from our midst. Ireland is changing, and many of the aspects Kevin describes so lovingly herein are vanishing. This is, of course, all the more reason to treasure this wonderful set of essays and observations from a fresh, vibrant, and singular voice, a genuinely Irish American writer from whom we all hope we can expect much more. Hope we don't have to wait another twenty five years for the sequel! I highly recommend this book. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: This is an amazingly funny, cute, and touching account of a man's journey around the coast of Ireland. I toured the southern part of Ireland a couple of years ago and reading Mr. O'Hara's tale brought back memories of how beautiful the country is and how wonderful the people are. The book is combination of Irish history, geography, and humor. Reading this book makes me want to head to Ireland, find a donkey and cart, and set off on my own adventure!
Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: This is an amazingly funny, cute, and touching account of a man's journey around the coast of Ireland. I toured the southern part of Ireland a couple of years ago and reading Mr. O'Hara's tale brought back memories of how beautiful the country is and how wonderful the people are. The book is combination of Irish history, geography, and humor. Reading this book makes me want to head to Ireland, find a donkey and cart, and set off on my own adventure!
Rating:
Summary: Round Ireland with the Donkeyman
Review: What makes Ireland Ireland? What makes the Irish Irish? Kevin O'Hara had reason to wonder, and it let him to wander, led him on the wonderful journey recounted in this book, looking for the remote old Ireland soon to be absorbed into the modern world. Though born to emigrating parents in England and raised in America, Kevin felt himself to be Irish and believed that if he came to know Ireland he would wind up knowing himself.
So, on the brink of age 30 in 1979, with a stint in Vietnam and training as a psychiatric nurse behind him, Kevin embarked on a personal quest to discover the country of his ancestors and the nature of his heritage. A wacky back-to-the-land scheme to become an apprentice thatcher fell through like an old roof, but Kevin came back with an even wackier idea: He would get a donkey and cart, and walk the circumference of Ireland, living off the land and the hospitality of its people.
In peregrination he would find his position in the world, among the people he would discover the person he was, and in contact with the blessed earth he would find the strength to complete not just this mad 8-month journey but the journey of his life as well.
So off he set, saying good-bye to his grandmother in Roscommon and waving farewell to the crowd of cronies at Rattigan's bar, elder countrymen each with his own view of the Yank's quirky quest. Bets were laid on the outcome -- would he complete his circuit of the island or would he fail to make it out of the county? Was he idiotic or merely idiosyncratic, a wise fool or simply foolish?
He was touched to be sure, be it with wonder or whimsy or wand of faerie, but could this oddfellow circle the island and find the center of the eccentric, the heart of a divided country? Now, 25 years later, readers can decide for themselves, since the story has finally been published.
What happens when a city boy takes a donkey named Missie for a traveling companion? When a nightly roof over their heads depends on farmers and householders met along the road? When even their daily bread depends on the generosity of the land's people? When the road stretches endlessly through a magical landscape of serene beauty and ancient grievance? What adventures and pratfalls await the wanderer? Where will the road lead and where will it end? The answers lie within "Last of the Donkey Pilgrims."
Full disclosure: Kevin O'Hara is a friend of mine, but I believe if you read this book, he will begin to feel like a friend of yours as well.
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