A tale of two books

Eamonn O Cathain's book, Around Ireland with a Pan: Food, Tales and Recipes is a somewhat humorous and honest examination of (or lack of!) the culinary tradition in Ireland. The book looks at how food is produced, prepared, sold and eaten in Ireland, north and south and makes the outrageous statement, 'When I was a wee boy, the only thing that seemed to come from Tyrone was a sausage - from Cookstown'

Another interesting read that I came across recently was Back Through the Fields: Memories of a Rural Life by Maurice McAleese (2005).