Why a Booktrail?
1900s: The author clearly has an ear for the music and lilt of Sligo dialect which recreates the ambiance of Western Ireland before and during World War I.
The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty
What you need to know before your trail
Eneas McNulty has a happy, innocent childhood growing up in County Sligo in the early 1900s but his Ireland is changing and not for the better.
Unable to find work after World War I, Eneas joins the British-led police force, the Royal Irish Constabulary— and is subsequently branded a traitor by Irish nationalists and pursued by IRA hitmen. He is therefore forced to flee his homeland and everything he holds dear.
Before long he ends up on the Isle of Dogs, a haven for sailors.
The story of a lost man and a compelling saga that illuminates Ireland’s complex history.
Locations
Reset- Ireland (Republic of)
- A: Sligo - John Street
- B: Sligo - Sligo Abbey
- C: Sligo - Benbulben
- D: Sligo -Garavogue river
Travel Guide
The tale of Eneas McNulty is the story of so many young men of the time – men in Ireland following the end of WW1. We first meet him as a young man and see him grow and as he grows and develops so does his country Ireland. This is a parallel tale of a man and his country as they walk side by side. However WW1 is the event that will trip them both up and they won’t really find their footing for a long while afterwards if at all.
Eneas McNulty is, like so many other young men hanging around in Sligo at that time, without a job and feeling that his life is going nowhere fast. Feeling empty since the war where he fought with the British Merchant navy, he already has a few enemies who resent his British connection. When, after the war, he joins the “peelers” (the Royal Irish Constabulary) his troubles are not over since his name soon appears on a death list and he is subsequently forced to flee
Over the next few months and years, he works a series of jobs and flees from one place to another – the North Atlantic, Nigeria, before ending up on the Isle of Dogs. What he sees along the way and where he goes are something to be believed. we were taken aback on more than one occasion. Despite everything he ‘s done and everywhere he’s been he never forgets his beloved Ireland.
Where Next?
