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    An Irish Country Courtship: A Novel
    An Irish Country Courtship: A Novel
    An Irish Country Courtship: A Novel
    Audiobook13 hours

    An Irish Country Courtship: A Novel

    Written by Patrick Taylor

    Narrated by John Keating

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateSep 28, 2010
    ISBN9781427210609
    An Irish Country Courtship: A Novel
    Author

    Patrick Taylor

    Patrick Taylor, M.D., was born and raised in Bangor County Down in Northern Ireland. Dr. Taylor is a distinguished medical researcher, offshore sailor, model-boat builder, and father of two grown children. He lives on Saltspring Island, British Columbia.

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    Reviews for An Irish Country Courtship

    4/5

    107 ratings15 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I loved this book! As a fan of celtic music, much of the language was familiar and the characters so real and likable. This is the first book in the Irish Country series that I have read, but I will definitely be reading the previous books in the series. This book was a real treat.
    • 4/5
      I suppose I am a jerk to have cheered when Patricia dumped Barry, but man, they are so poorly suited, it was quite a relief. No so much of a relief to hear Barry's drawn out moping -- lucky you to avoid that, Patricia, wish we all could have joined you in Cambridge. Despite finding Barry irritating, mopey, indecisive and wet, I continue to enjoy this series very much. I sympathize with him -- I suspect I was similarly angsty and agonized at his age, but given that his wandering eyes had already strayed to Sue Nolan, it seems a bit rich. Anyway, big changes coming -- it will be interesting to see how things play out.
    • 4/5
      In this number in the Irish Country Series, Dr. Barry Laverty has been part of the Dr. Fingal O'Reilly's medical practice for a few weeks and is learning about Ballybucklebo and its many unusual residents. The story starts with the woman Barry is madly in love with telling him their relationship is over as she cannot see herself spending her life in such a backwoods place. Meanwhile Kitty O'Halloran, a woman Fingal wanted to marry in the 1930's has re-entered Fingal's life and he struggles with the memories of his first wife who was killed in WW II and his desire to tell Kitty he loves her and wants to marry her.There is also the racehorse that some of the local blue collar workers have invested in with the local conman who is clearly cheating them of their shares. O'Reilly and Laverty work out a scheme to fleece the conman and make the workers rich.While all these story threads are unraveled, we also experience the every day life of a rural GP in Northern Ireland in 1962 learning of the illnesses a GP would diagnose and treat. Some of the operations and first aid are vividly described. It is accompanied by great amounts of humour for this town and its surroundings is full of characters who provided that humour in their speech and actions. Lots of fun to read.
    • 3/5
      too cheerful.
    • 4/5
      Re-read 2018This book in the series goes back to focusing on Doctor's O'Reilly and Laverty and their medical practice in 1960's Balleybucklebo, Ireland. Widower Fingal O'Reilly has a love interest in this book, he reconnects with a woman he knew as a student nurse in his own student doctor days, it's entertaining to see him try to figure out dating as an older man in the 1960's. Doctor Laverty has come to a crossroads in his life and has to make some hard decisions about where he wants to go. There are some big changes in store for the Doctors in Balleybucklebo but they still keep their sense of humor. Patrick Taylor comes up with some great oneliners in this one and made me laugh out loud a few times. I love these books, and can't wait for the next one to be available at the library.
    • 4/5
      I have read quite a few of these Irish Country books thanks to my husband buying them for me. This book is set after An Irish Country Girl and before An Irish Country Wedding. It is not necessary to read them in order but it does provide a narrative flow.In this book one doctor in the village of Ballybucklebo is progressing nicely with his romance but the other has been jilted by his girlfriend and is quite downcast. However life does go on and the doctors are called to minister to common ailments as well as some tricky conditions. Junior doctor, Barry Laverty, chafes at always having to send the tricky cases to specialists and hospitals in Belfast. He is uncertain whether he will stay in Ballybucklebo after his contract is up at the end of June. Senior practitioner Fingal O'Reilly would like him to stay but he knows that Barry has to decide for himself. Meanwhile there are always problems other than medical that the people ask their doctors for help. One of the more puzzling is how Councillor Bishop is swindling eight of his employees that he talked into buying shares in a racehorse with him. Much drinking of Irish whiskey and puffing on pipes helps with the cogitations. Back home the housekeeper and cook, Kinky Kincaid, answers telephone calls, bakes and cooks and cleans and takes an interest in her doctors and the patients. Kinky has even included a few of her recipes. The one for Sticky Toffee Pudding and Butterscotch Sauce sounds wonderful.
    • 4/5
      The fifth book in his Irish Country series, An Irish Country Courtship brings the story back to the Northern Irish village of Ballybucklebo in the days immediately after the New Year of 1965 has been rung in. A romantic let-down has Dr. Barry Laverty wondering if this village is really where he wants to be. He has six months left before he becomes a full partner and is going to use that time to decide where he sees himself in the future. Meanwhile Dr. Fingal O’Reilly is becoming ever closer to Kitty O’Hallorhan. Kinky, the housekeeper is feeling a little threatened by Kitty’s presence and the two women need to work out their individual territories.Strewn throughout the book are details of the day-to-day medical care the doctors provide to the community, and as always, there an abundance of humor and life lessons that are taught and absorbed by both villagers and doctors alike. One of the main storylines sees the doctors expose an elaborate scheme that Councilman Bertie Bishop has devised to fleece some of the villagers out of their share of a racehorse. These light-hearted books are guaranteed to bring on a smile or two as this is a captivating series that entertains as it warms the cockles of your heart.
    • 4/5
      I love this series. They're ideal audiobooks, because I love the Irish accent of the reader, and the way he does voices for a very character-driven novel setting.
      I don't know why I find novels about retro small town doctors so lovely as ways to fall asleep. I loathe hospitals and am squeamish about all things medical. But, make it a doctor who practiced in a small town before I was born, with an accent from somewhere in the British isles, and I will cuddle right up with that story in my ears.
      This, from a girl too squeamish to watch "Scrubs."
      I mystify myself.
    • 3/5
      Good story, good characters ... won't change your life, but maybe could bring a smile to you.
    • 5/5
      These books leave me in the most restful mood. Even more than that, I feel connected to a part of my background and lineage - I can hear the characters talking as if I was right there in Ballybucklebo. The only other writing that evokes similar literary 'nourishment' are All Creatures Great and Small (the series by James Herriot, which is VERY much like these books), and the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith (which create a restful mood but in a very different setting).
      I cannot wait to crack open An Irish COuntry Girl, and am looking forward to the next book about Drs. O'Reilly and Laverty.
    • 4/5
      Started my reading of this series with this book and so thoroughly enjoyed listening to it (great narrator), I immediately began listening to earlier stories. Wonderful sense of place (Ireland) and time (1960s).
    • 4/5
      This is the latest in a very cozy comfy series about life in rural Ireland in the mid 20th century. When I got the book, I thought the courtship would have to do with the romance of young Dr. Barry Laverty who, at the end of the previous episode (An Irish Country Christmas) was unceremoniously dumped by the love of his life Patricia Spence. His hang-dog attitude seemed certain to make life miserable for everyone around him. Instead, we are actually treated to the more senior Dr. O'Reilly's bumbling later in life courtship of his long time-ago love, Kitty O'Hallorhan. How the housekeeper Kinky Kincaid reacts to another woman in her doctor-dear's life adds an amusing and heartwarming touch to all the relationships.Taylor does an excellent job of back-fill in this one so even if you haven't read the others, this will do nicely on its own. The Irish Country series is a delightful, uplifting, fun, and easy to read look at a town of characters who have flaws, of villains bent on making money on the backs of others who stand to lose, on women who seem stuck in a time warp, on drunks who aren't always as well behaved as they might, of comical animals, shy maidens, mischievous urchins at the school, and old folks hanging onto life--whose hopes and dreams are the hopes and dreams of all of us, and whose doctors manage to keep them well enough in body and soul to live interesting and rewarding lives.
    • 4/5
      This is the fifth book in a series about life in the colorful Ulster village of Ballybucklebo in the mid 1960s. Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly, welcomes Dr. Barry Laverty into his home and his practice. Unfortunately, Laverty quickly loses his girlfriend and begins to question his use to the practice and to all women. The tale is full of everyday life for village people, various ailments and diseases, touchy relationships with a housekeeper, a swindle involving a racehorse, and a romance that is surprising and heartfelt. Curl up with a cup of tea and enjoy.
    • 5/5
      An Irish Country Courtship is the 5th novel in a series of 6 by Patrick Taylor. It continues the story of the citizens of Ballybucklebo in Ulster. This is the first Irish Country book that I have read and even though I didn't know a lot of the characters it was easy to follow. This is a lighthearted read but not without some suspense and thoroughly enjoyable. If you have read the other novels in this series, you will want to read this one also. If you haven't like me, do not let this stop you from reading this book. I intend to read the previous books in the series.
    • 5/5
      An Irish Country Courtship is a very good book! I must say it took me a bit to get the hang of the Irish-speak, but as I got used to it I warmed up to it. This book was not what I'd expected, but was a very pleasant surprise. It wasn't "just" a country courtship, but a whole lot more. I truly enjoyed all the different characters and their own little unique differences. I would definitely recommend An Irish Country Courtship by Patrick Taylor!