An Irish Country Courtship

By: Patrick Taylor

Narrated by: John Keating

Welcome to Patrick Taylor's Irish Country Books and the colourful Ulster village of Ballybucklebo, where two doctors work hand in hand to mend the bodies and spirits of the town's diverse and engaging inhabitants. But who is looking after the wounded hearts of the doctors?

In An Irish Country Courtship, after less than a year, young Barry Laverty, M.B., is settling in to the village, with only a few months to go before he becomes a full partner in the practice. He's looking forward to becoming a fixture in the community, until an unexpected romantic reversal gives him second thoughts. Will he truly be happy tending to routine coughs and colds for the rest of his career? After all, even when a more challenging case comes along, like a rare tropical disease, all he can do is pass it on to a qualified specialist or big-city hospital. As much as Barry enjoys the rough and tumble of life in County Down, is running a humble GP's shop all he wants out of life?

Barry's mentor, Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, is going through some personal upheavals as well.
After mourning his deceased wife for decades, he's finally allowed a new woman into his life. But this budding courtship is not going over well with Kinky Kincaid, the doctors' redoubtable housekeeper, who fears having her position usurped by O'Reilly's new flame. Tact, diplomacy, and a fair amount of blarney may be required to restore peace to the household.

Meanwhile, life goes on in Ballybucklebo, presenting both doctors with plenty of distractions from their own troubles. From a mysterious outbreak at the local school to a complicated swindle involving an unlucky racehorse, the two partners will need all of their combined wit and compassion to put things right again--just in time for their lives to change forever.

©2010 Patrick Taylor (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Review

The quality was just as good as usual, but I enjoy the village relationships and medical scenarios more than the romance and courtship relationships. I know it has "courtship" in the title. It was very good and necessary to follow this wonderful story!

Loved every minute of this one!

This may be my very favorite book of the series. I can't wait to start on the next one! Patrick Taylor is a wonderful writer and kudos to John Keating for his terrific narration. I highly recommend the entire series. You don't have to be Irish to enjoy these stories. They are fun.uplifting,and very enjoyable.

Loved it

It is very entertaining. The characters are so lovable. I can not stop listening now.

I hope there will be more in the series!

I've read the entire Irish Country series. Firstly, I love John Keating as a reader! His knowledge of Irish accents is awesome, and he has a delight in his voice as he creates voices for each of the characters.

For anyone who may be disappointed by his accents, thinking they are not Irish, please know that the difference between Northern Ireland and the south such as Cork are major. Having spent a fair amount of time in Northern Ireland, which I love, it was a joy to listen to him and think about the people I have met and grown to love.

None of the books is a thriller. Rather, Patrick Taylor is delightful because of the characters in this imaginary village in the 1960's. This was the time when Ireland was just beginning to change and leap forward. Yet, many still had no phones, or still used primitive plumbing and heating. We don't think of a fire as a main heat source, but it still was in many homes in Ireland. Taylor brings it all to life.

If you want a series that will make you smile, and sometimes laugh out loud, then I would recommend this. My husband did not enjoy them as much as I did, but agreed about John Keating's narration. The story is lightweight, but I liked the series because of the things I've mentioned. Sometimes I just want something purely for fun.

By the end of the series, I felt like I really knew Dr. O'Reilly, Kinky Kincade, and Donal along with all the others. Dr. Fingal O'Reilly is probably the most delightful. He is larger than life.

Another thing which I enjoyed was learning how medicine was practiced in the 1960's. The books are a salute to all the hard working GPs out there.

Whiney men are not attractive

I really got tired of the poor pitiful me of Dr Laverty. It distracted from the rest of the story.