This month's book discussion will be about two plays: A Skull in Connemara by Martin McDonagh and Translations by Brian Friel.

A Skull in Connemara: Despite the fact that he saw his wife die at the wheel of their car, Mick Dowd coped with the inquests and can live with the persistent local rumours. But Mick is also the local grave digger and, when the village graveyard is full, he is the one who has to dig to make room for the new tenants. The trouble is, this time, more than old bones come to the surface.

Translations: The action takes place in late August 1833 at a hedge-school in the townland of Baile Beag, an Irish-speaking community in County Donegal. In a nearby field camps a recently arrived detachment of the Royal Engineers, making the first Ordnance Survey. For the purposes of cartography, the local Gaelic place names have to be recorded and rendered into English. In examining the effects of this operation on the lives of a small group, Brian Friel skillfully reveals the far-reaching personal and cultural effects of an action which is at first sight purely administrative.

Read the best Ireland has to offer!  From the land of great story-tellers, we will be reading famous and lesser-known Irish authors, including contemporary and classic writers of fiction, non-fiction, and plays.  We will discuss style, sense of place, history, psychology, culture, and the Diaspora.  If you are interested in great writing, this is a group you will enjoy being a part of.  Upcoming authors include Edna O’Brien, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Donal Ryan, Colum McCann.  Come for the books, stay for the craic! Meetings are held on the second floor at the gallery tables.