closer inspection of this sprawling narrative reveals subtle symmetry. What I discovered in college, and much more So after graduate school, was that the further I ventured into Irish music, the further behind I left the Ireland of Irish-American fantasy. Ireland's history is tightly bound up with that of North America, And the two chapters of history is regard to music included in this book comprise the minimum of what one needs to know to carry on a normal conversation in Ireland (with musicians or without). What's in a name? Ireland has two national languages: Irish-Gaelic and English. Nonetheless, the bloated scale of this fictional household does allow the author to fully develop his didactic agenda. In some cases, especially if she gave birth to a son, a concubine could Garner so much respect and Power in a family that she could seriously challenge the wife. but in other cases, her role resembled that of a maidservant.