Irish Gold, One of my Favorite Books for St. Patricks Day

Irish Gold

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day and my Irish heritage, I wanted to write a post about one of my favorite books of all time.  Irish Gold by Andrew Greeley is one of the most absolutely charming books I have ever read.  The story is a great mystery and the start of a series featuring the detective, Nuala McGrail and her man, Dermot Coyne.  Irish Gold is the first (and in my humble opinion the best) of the what would become a series of 12 mysteries touched with history.  The book is approximately 330 pages and I believe a fun read.  My mother originally discovered the story when she was looking for a book for a trip to Bermuda and was so excited to send it to me.  I have recommended and purchased this book for many people.  I read Irish Gold at least once a year. 

The story is about an American dilettante, Dermot Coyne who goes to Ireland to escape family pressure, two lost loves, and fear of failure.  Dermot strikes it rich accidently and retires in his 20s from the Chicago commodities market.  He travels to Ireland to maybe write a book about his beloved grandparents, Bill and Mary Ann Ready.  He remembers his grandmother saying that if she and her husband ever went back to Ireland they would be shot.  He doesn’t know if she was romanticizing their family history or if she was telling the truth.  As soon as Dermot begins to ask questions, government officials begin to get nervous and warn him off his course.  There is romance, treasure, diaries and adventure all wrapped up through the charming Irish countryside.

The first reason I love this book is the resemblance between one of the main characters, Mary Ann (Nell Pat) Malone, the grandmother and my great-grandmother—Annie Burke.  Nana Burke would refer to her grandchildren and to her great grandchildren as her gossans.  Like Nell Pat, Nana was an ardent Irish nationalist.  Nana would tell stories of her father pinning dispatches in her dress as a young girl and her running to give them to the IRA.  She also would tell of attending a funeral with her father of three boys who were cowardly killed by the dreaded Black and Tans.  She said when she left the funeral with her father the Tans had tommy guns pointed at the attendees incase of a riot.  Nana also was very much in love with her husband and I always remember how she spoke of him.  Every time I pick up Irish Gold, I think Nana is still with us. 

The second reason I love this book is the love story between Dermot and Nuala McGrail.  Nuala is a poor college student that Dermot meets in a bar.  The love story is a little quaint, old fashioned, and behind the times to be honest.  Andrew Greeley, now deceased, was a Roman Catholic priest, albeit a rather progressive one.  One of the criticisms for the novel is how can a man who is sworn to celibacy write about romantic relationships.  He is very catholic with their relationship. 

The third reason I love this book is the mystery.  Irish Gold has a wonderful mystery full of interesting characters.  The book tells the story of a historical mystery with the translations of Nell Pat’s diary.  Its written in Irish and Dermot hires Nuala to translate it.

As we are hunkering down in social distancing exile, I recommend Irish Gold by Andrew Greeley.  You will love it (unless your British). 

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