Lig Sinn i gCathú

1976 novel by Breandán Ó hEithir

0902563580 (1st Irish ed)
ISBN 0710000308 (1st English ed, Routledge & Kegan Paul)

Lig Sinn i gCathú (Irish: Lead Us Into Temptation) is a novel by the Irish writer Breandán Ó hEithir.

Title

Its title refers to the Lord's Prayer (or "Our Father"):

forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Plot

The story is set in the university town of Baile an Chaisil, a thinly disguised city of Galway, in 1949, the year Ireland declared itself a republic and withdrew from the Commonwealth of Nations. Máirtín Ó Mealóid, a pub-crawling university student, and his disreputable friends are too busy drinking and lusting after girls to pay much attention to this significant political development. The story takes place over four days from Thursday 14 April to Monday 18 April.

Publication

The novel was written and published in Irish, then translated into English and German and was adapted for the stage in 2004.[1] An extract from the book was formerly on the curriculum of Honours Level Irish in the Leaving Certificate secondary school examination. It was the first Irish-language book ever to top Ireland's hardback best-seller list.[2]

The book was launched at Kennys, and the event aired live for an hour and a half on RTÉ Radio 1.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Thirsty for good stout and bad company: The anti-hero of 'Lig Sinn i gCathú' is coming to the stage". The Irish Timesdate=27 September 2004. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Breandan O hEithir, Irish Writer, Dies at 60". The New York Times. 28 October 1990.
  3. ^ "Kennys Bookshop in Galway: a bestseller for 75 years". The Irish Times. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.


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