Meet the author - Dennis Carey
January 9, 2025
Long-awaited sequel arrives
If it’s a land war they want, there are people prepared to fight back.
In 2016 Mayo-born author, Dennis Carey, released An Untilled Field, a historical story of the violent eviction of the Walshe family in 1870s rural Ireland. Based on true events the story focused on sixteen-year-old Liam Walshe who watched his parents being taken away by the Royal Irish Constabulary leaving him homeless and caring for his four-year-old brother Aiden. As his adventure unfolds, Liam makes contact with representatives of the Irish National Land League, the organisation founded at the Imperial Hotel in Castlebar in 1879 to fight for justice for land tenants.
Almost nine years later, Dennis has released the book’s gripping sequel, Land Wars.
The stories are set, predominantly, in County Mayo during the Irish Land Wars of the late 1800s. In both books, Dennis draws on actual events in England and Ireland to bring the harsh history of this period to life on the page.
“I owed it to young Liam Walshe and the other main characters in the first book to continue their story,” Dennis said. “Unfortunately, in the sequel, life doesn’t get any easier for Liam and his family. If anything, it gets more dangerous.”
Dennis has been writing since leaving Further Education in August 2014. This is his fifth novel. Along with An Untilled Field his other titles are The Ditcher, Sins of the Mothers, and Killing Alma. He will be here at Coventry Irish Society on Tuesday 28 th January 2025 at 2.00pm to talk about the books and the inspiration behind them.
Copies of all of his books will be available to sign and dedicate after the talk.
Beginners’ Irish Language Autumn Course 2026 with Dr Ian Malcolm Professional Irish language teacher and acclaimed Journalist, Dr Ian Malcolm, will deliver a bespoke online course in Beginners’ Irish. This course will consist of 10x classes and will take place entirely over Zoom on Saturday mornings, with Dr Ian Malcolm. Course details: Saturday 3 October 2026 - Saturday 5 December 2026* with 10x classes on Saturday mornings, delivered via Zoom from 11.00 am – 12.30 pm (including a 20 minute break). £105 for Coventry Irish Society Members | £110 for Non-Members *(or possibly slightly later, should the tutor need to take any unplanned leave during the course). This course consists of 10 classes and the aim is for the entirety of the course to be completed before Christmas 2026. Course materials: The class will use the textbook, Irish For Beginners (which is in the link below). This book costs in the region of £7.00 - £10.00 and it is strongly recommended that students purchase their own copies in advance of the course. You can find details of the course textbook here. Registration closes when course capacity is reached. Early booking is strongly recommended. The registration form for this course can be downloaded below. Please contact us at cis@covirishsoc.org.uk to return your booking form and complete course fee payment.
Coventry Irish Society launch our new #GaeilgeOnTheGo flashcards to support and encourage learning and practising new words in Irish. Here are our first set of free flashcards, in Irish, to mark the start of the new school year, and to welcome the Autumn season. Click on a tile below to enlarge.
Coventry Irish Society is moving!
