HEALY, John. The Death of an Irish Town (Signed and inscribed by the author)

Cork: Mercier Press, [1968]. First edition. .pp. 127. Original pictorial paperback wrappers. A very good copy with light handling wear and minor spotting throughout. Signed and warmly inscribed by the author on the title-page: “To Maurice O’Shea – Prince of Friends + Culture … with good wishes John Healy … Safari Day ’84”. Scarce signed.

A powerful and now increasingly sought-after work of Irish social commentary, The Death of an Irish Town remains one of the most evocative accounts of rural decline in twentieth-century Ireland. John Healy’s study of Charlestown, Co. Mayo, charts the gradual economic and cultural erosion of a once-thriving provincial town, capturing with remarkable clarity the anxieties surrounding emigration, unemployment, depopulation, and the disappearance of traditional Irish life.

Written with a journalist’s eye and a novelist’s instinct for atmosphere, the work has gained renewed relevance in recent years as a landmark of Irish documentary writing. The volume is illustrated throughout with photographic plates depicting the stark streetscapes and railway lines emblematic of the town’s decline. Particularly notable is Healy’s prophetic commentary on foreign ownership and the changing social fabric of rural Ireland, passages which today read with striking modern resonance.

An especially desirable association copy, enhanced by the author’s lengthy personal inscription and uncommon survival in signed state. Mercier Press paperbacks of this period are notoriously fragile, making well-preserved examples increasingly difficult to obtain.

John Healy (1930–1991), later acclaimed for No One Shouted Stop!, was among the most distinctive voices in Irish journalism and social criticism during the latter half of the twentieth century. His works documenting rural Ireland have become increasingly collectible, particularly signed or inscribed examples with strong provenance.

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