The Tay is Wet: Tales from Ireland's Valley of the Boyne Book

"The Tay is Wet" is a compilation of sixteen humourous stories about farm life in eastern Co Meath, Ireland, set mostly in the 1950's. The goings on in the fictitious Roggart community featuring the Deery family and their neighbours will make you smile. The hero, Timmy's adventures at the 'Grand' Cinema recall the magical experience of moving pictures. The diva sang loud in the Met 'My tiny hand's cold, I'm 'upset' But Paddy from Meath Who was singing male lead Said the cure's coming up, the tay's wet'. The stories are loosely based on the author's own experiences and the reminiscences of present and past generations. The narrative can be read in sequence or the reader may dip in or out to individual stories as each chapter is a complete unit. If your life feels a bit less harmonic and your temper is turning demonic then the pick-up you need. In this book you will read, It's been voted the number one 'tonic'. Preface: 'the cinema and the dancehall played a significant part in providing, not only entertainment, but also some relief from the grinding and unending struggle to put bread on the tables of rural Ireland during the nineteen forties and fifties. Whistling and singing at work made mundane tasks seem lighter. Annual holidays became the norm. The general theme of the book is this bygone social scene of pictures and dances 'as recalled by the author and conveyed through the character, Timmy Deery, a simple man who makes us laugh but who also commands our respect for his innate good nature and decency. Cinema was a social phenomenon not only in Ireland but in all countries whose ideology permitted its influence. Many of us who grew up in those times well remember when the main topic of conversation as we drew' in the hay or stucked 'the corn was what Judy Garland did last night in the pictures'. Actors and actresses became real people to us. We knew them as neighbours and friends or if they were baddies - as enemies who deserved their comeuppance. I have tried, in this little book, to recall some of those events and to add whatever life the written word will allow so that, hopefully, the reader will have a pleasurable and rewarding experience' - Ben Ryan, February, 2010.Read More