The author, Scotstown-man Mackie Rooney, has spent half a lifetime immersed in the folklore and local history of his native parish of Tydavnet and Sliabh Beagh.  His modus operandi was simplicity itself-interviewing elderly people and researching the archives of regional newspapers.  Small wonder that the final product is a three-volume (1100 pages) ‘book for the ages’ which will ensure that the struggles, but also the lighter moments, of day-to-day life for our ancestors is not forgotten in this digital age.

Teeming with at least 150 topics from the naming of Sliabh Beagh to recent sporting events, we journey through the folklore of The Early Christian Period and Penal Times to the more documented history of the 19thand 20thcenturies-The Famine, The Fenians, Evictions and The Struggle for the Land, The War of Independence, The Establishment of the Border, Smuggling and the 1955-1962 Border Campaign.  The book touches and deals sensitively with some controversial events which still rankle in the community.  Not surprisingly, he gave a wide berth to some of these events but left the door ajar with ‘A Future Project’ on what could be revisited at another time.  His interviews over many years with the elderly throw added light on the major events of the twentieth century.  The many poems and photos add lustre to this insight.

Rooney is to be lauded in what was for him a labour of love. He appreciates that to know ourselves we must know our past. And yet, if we hope to move on, we cannot be shackled by the past.