Warm thanks are due to Breandán Ó Conaire for translating most of the Irish material, and to Susan Asbee for making available to me the extracts from At Swim-Two-Birds; to Tess Hurson, Aibhistín Mac Amhlaigh, Anthony Cronin and very many others for help and encouragement; to Mrs Evelyn O’Nolan for smiling on the project; and to Eoghan and Biddy, Lucy and Julie, and the entire Wyse Jackson family for being themselves. I would also like to thank John Ryan, Peter Costello, and, for the pieces included here by her late husband, Mrs Kathleen Kavanagh.