Barefoot in Mullyneeny

I caught a brilliant short story on the radio a little while ago called 'The white horse' (or was it 'Coping the lea'?). It was read in a beautiful Irish accent and was a magical bit of nostalgic and evocative reminiscing. More recently I came across this collection of 48 short stories and realised straight away that it was the source of the story I'd heard. Actually it says on the cover 'As heard on Radio 4's Home truths'. I have a soft spot for things Irish (must be in the genes somewhere) but whatever your background this is simply a well written collection of sometimes slight and sometimes more substantive material by amaster story teller who has worked hard on his material and who has a gift for observation and what makes people tick. The back story of Catholic Ulster in the forties and fifties is desperately tragic and wone is bound to be moved. I'm loathe to pick out one but if you read 'Noreen Bawn' about a girl he once saw who lost her innocence in England and are not moved you're made of stone. You can hear 'Coping the lea' here and four others.