Irishology

Ah Ireland, it's a great little country all the same, if only you could put a roof on it. While we may be a nation of messers and begrudgers, we'll always have a soft spot for our land of sunny spells and scattered showers. Who else but the Irish can perform minor miracles with a prayer to St Anthony? Or truly appreciate the medicinal purposes of Flat 7Up? Not to mention the front room, chipper chips and the 'bad pint'! From things you'll only hear and taste in Ireland to tips for surviving any social situation (an Irish wedding anyone?!), Ronan Moore's witty, irreverent and nostalgic guide will have you laughing your way to a degree in Irishology. Altogether now … 'Lowwww lie the Fields of Athenryyyy'

Auteur
Having watched family and friends emigrate and faced with headlines laden with cutbacks and crises, Ronan Moore decided to list some of the reasons why Ireland wasn't all that bad. Fuelled by memories of what he'd missed when he lived overseas, one reason to love Ireland became 10, 10 became 100 and it kept increasing as Ronan posted a blog entry for each and every morning of the year on 365reasonstoloveireland.blogspot.ie. Almost 100,000 hits later, his blog became his first book, Irishology.Ronan is a secondary-school English teacher whose writing is thankfully a lot better than his spelling. When not trying to get students to stand on their desks to look at the world in a different light, he is trying to get them off the tables to take down their homework. He lives in Trim with 'the one', Frances, who he married recently on a gloriously overcast Irish summer's day.Follow Ronan on Twitter @ronanmoore