John Steinbeck, who had an Irish mother, once wrote that every good Irishman goes back once. This Irishman must confess that he's been back more than once in the many years since he first left for Australia. But it took 13 years before I could make the first trip, and it…

Two new books by Irish writers have highlighted modern Ireland in all her graces and faults. Both works of fiction; they are grounded in the realities of recent Irish history. The Spinning Heart, by Donal Ryan, tells of what happens to a small Irish community in the aftermath of the collapse of…