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Great Irish Drinking Stories
FROM THE PUBLISHER Ireland's drinking culture has been exported around the world and given the Irish a reputation as an entertaining and talkative nation. It has been an inspiration for Ireland's other great exports - her writers. From James Joyce, Flann O'Brien, and Brendan Behan to Roddy Doyle and Patrick McCabe all have written about drinking and its effects, the stuff of life and the sometimes troubling consequences. Irish revelry is included, wakes and weddings, city bars and country pubs, the craic and the ceilidh in a round of twenty-five stories that celebrate drink and drinking. Travel around the most celebrated fictional pubs in Irish literature, attend memorable wakes, listen to the legendary drinkers who hold court at the bar and spin the most spellbinding tales you're ever likely to hear. Great Irish Drinking Stories spills over with wit, imagination, and the appetite for life that you'll find in any Irish pub.
- GenresIreland
333 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Peter Haining
334 books99 followersPeter Alexander Haining was an English journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk. Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library.
Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.
In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).
He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.
Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.
In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).
He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 18, 2023
Más que borracheras insignes, lúdicas, como en un principio pensaba, resultó ser un compendio de relatos sobre hombres con problemas con el alcohol, historias mucho más cerca de la muerte que de la risa. Y curiosamente las que más me gustaron fueron las más dramáticas: "El zahorí" de Brian Friel y "De visita" de Bernard McLaverty, este último cuento una oda a la amistad. Del resto rescato "Sed" de Flann O´Brien, más cerca de mis expectativas juerguistas, y "El primer bar de solteros" de Malachy McCourt, crónica del nacimiento de un bar, muy bien escrita.
Por otro lado siempre es un gusto leer sobre Irlanda, sus costumbres, historia, mitología, y en este libro, su relación particular con la bebida, en especial lo que cuenta Peter Haining en la estupenda introducción.
Por otro lado siempre es un gusto leer sobre Irlanda, sus costumbres, historia, mitología, y en este libro, su relación particular con la bebida, en especial lo que cuenta Peter Haining en la estupenda introducción.
August 13, 2019
DNF about halfway through. A couple of the stories were great, but overall most didn't grip me at all.
July 18, 2024
Colección de 12 relatos, bueno, realmente 9 porque 3 de ellos están mutilados. De esos 9 hay 4 bastante buenos, sólo por ellos merece la pena su lectura. Muchos comparten el mismo trasfondo, la suciedad y los efectos nocivos del alcohol, por tanto no se ensalza alegremente el modo de vida irlandés, pero sí lo describe con naturalidad (estereotipos aparte).
July 30, 2019
Bares, relatos de los mejores escritores irlandeses, cerveza negra... ¿Qué puede salir mal? Curiosamente, han sido los relatos de los escritores (para mí) desconocidos los que me han supuesto una sorpresa agradable. El resto... Mera curiosidad.
August 24, 2017
Perfect collection of stories to accompany a trip to Ireland.
March 18, 2012
A great sampling of Ireland's writers (including a few playwrights)!
Brian Friel's short story was the most memorable.
Sometimes the attention to dialect was a bit too much to fathom.
Brian Friel's short story was the most memorable.
Sometimes the attention to dialect was a bit too much to fathom.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews