Rathcormick A Childhood Recalled

Set in 1950s rural Ireland, Rathcormick is the engaging and beautifully written tale of a large and happy Protestant farming family: a stern and domineering Papa, a warm and practical Mama, their two daughters and six sons. For Homan, the youngest, life is a free-spirited awakening in a world of old-fashioned virtue and frugality. But no boyhood lasts forever, and an abrupt turn of events signals an end to the idyll. Exploring the values and mores of an almost lost part of Irish society, Rathcormick is an unforgettable memoir: funny, compelling, and original.

Homan Potterton was Director of the National Gallery of Ireland (1980–8), and Editor of Irish Arts Review (1993–2002). He published a follow-up memoir, Who Do I Think I Am?, In 2017 and a novel, Knockfane, in 2019, both with Merrion Press. Potterton died in 2020.

Introduction by William Trevor 1. Out of the Blue 2. Three Centuries 3. A Proper Father 4. The Pursuit of the Practical 5. Battle Lines 6. Grey Matter 7. Farming of the Future 8. A New Arrival 9. Thrift and Toil 10. Two Sisters 11. ‘One of our Own’ 12. An Impractical Investment 13. Holiday Romance 14. A Friend in Need … 15. Under Siege 16. The Best Beef in the Country 17. A Treatment for Tantrums 18. Partners 19. No Just Impediment 20. Trojan Endeavours 21. Changing Lives 22. In the Footsteps of Swift 23. A Journey to Remember 24. News from Home 25. Up to Myself 26. Moving On