Undernose Farm Revisted by Harry Crosbie

In this expanded edition of his original privately published book of twelve stories published in December 2020, Crosbie adds a further sixteen tales of the Dublin of his youth. Begun during lockdown, Harry harvested his formidable memory and imagination to recreate city life during the early 1960s, told through tales of the Dublin and Dubliners who peopled his hard-scrabble world.

John Banville wrote of the original volume, ‘These wonderfully direct and vivid tales catch the essence of Dublin life half a century ago. They are by turns rambunctious and touching, clear-eyed and accepting, warm though never sentimental, and frequently hilarious.’

Richard Ford compared his work to the writings of Mark Twain, Ring Lardner and Nelson Algren.

Crosbie has now fulfilled this promise with these fresh sparkling stories propelled by character, ambition, need and greed, suffused by humanity and wit. They are peopled by family, down-at-heel aristocrats, antique dealers and auctioneers, the river and streetlife of pre-Celtic Tiger Dublin, its pubs and cafes, homes and institutions. Warm as coddle on a winter’s night.

Each tale is nuanced, spare and perfectly pitched. Part chamber music, part ballad and folktale, Undernose Farm Revisited bears the stamp of literature in the making.

Author proceeds to Peter McVerry Trust.

Cover image by Guggi, donated to Peter McVerry Trust.

‘Could Wilde have built the Point? No but he’d have loved to have played it. Could Joyce have started Vicars Street? No, but he would have loved to have got up and sung in it. Yeats did manage to start the Abbey, which is fair enough, but it’s doubtful whether he or anyone else could have built the Docklands … But Harry Crosbie did all that and more and then out of the blue he turns out to be a fabulous writer. Harry Crosbie is a wonderful writer and this book is the evidence.’ – Bob Geldof

‘Harry Crosbie knows how to tell a tale, how to evoke a scene, how to sketch in a vivid and unforgettable character. His work is never sentimental, frequently funny, and always affecting.’ – John Banville

Rattle: An extract from Undernose Farm Revisited – Irish Independent

‘My book is an attempt at capturing a world which is now gone.’ – Harry Crosbie, Irish Times

‘Harry Crosbie’s stories tell of life in Dublin a generation ago.’ – Irish Times

‘With Undernose Farm Revisited, Harry Crosbie has delivered an evocative and funny short story collection worthy of your attention.’ – Hot Press

‘The developer turned author writes affectionately about his home town of Dublin and the docklands with its wealth of characters and stories.’ – Estelle Birdy, Business Post

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Harry Crosbie OBE is best known as the developer who transformed Dublin and its music scene during the late 1980s and 1990s with the Point and Bord Gáis theatres, Vicar Street and the docklands. Here he discovers a voice that will leave an equal mark on cultural memory.