An Irish Doctor in Peace and at War: An Irish Country Novel
Written by Patrick Taylor
Narrated by John Keating
4/5
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About this audiobook
Doctor O'Reilly heeds the call to serve his country in Irish Doctor in Peace and At War, the new novel in Patrick Taylor's beloved Irish Country series
Long before Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly became a fixture in the colourful Irish village of Ballybucklebo, he was a young M.B. with plans to marry midwife Dierdre Mawhinney. Those plans were complicated by the outbreak of World War II and the call of duty. Assigned to the HMS Warspite, a formidable 30,000-ton battleship, Surgeon Lieutenant O'Reilly soon found himself face-to-face with the hardships of war, tending to the dreadnought's crew of 1,200 as well as to the many casualties brought aboard.
Life in Ballybuckebo is a far cry from the strife of war, but over two decades later O'Reilly and his younger colleagues still have plenty of challenges: an outbreak of German measles, the odd tropical disease, a hard-fought pie-baking contest, and a local man whose mule-headed adherence to tradition is standing in the way of his son's future. Now older and wiser, O'Reilly has prescriptions for whatever ails…until a secret from the past threatens to unravel his own peace of mind.
Shifting deftly between two very different eras, Patrick Taylor's latest Irish Country novel reveals more about O'Reilly's tumultuous past, even as Ballybucklebo faces the future in its own singular fashion.
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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An Irish Country Doctor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Irish Country Girl: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Irish Country Courtship: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Irish Country Village: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Irish Country Wedding: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Irish Doctor in Peace and at War: An Irish Country Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Irish Country Love Story: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Irish Country Cottage: An Irish Country Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Irish Country Practice: An Irish Country Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Irish Country Family: An Irish Country Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Irish Country Welcome: An Irish Country Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Irish Country Yuletide: An Irish Country Novella Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wily O'Reilly: Irish Country Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Home Is the Sailor: An Irish Country Doctor Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for An Irish Doctor in Peace and at War
44 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Now I've got to read the sequel to find out what happened to Deirdre!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I continue to really enjoy this series -- Fingal now at war, learning his new duties. Dierdre onshore and the wedding still in the future. I really appreciate the depiction of life on the Warspite -- I had a headmaster who served as a gunner in WWII and suffered both hearing loss and lame leg because of it. This book gave me a new perspective on what his experience might have been like. Pretty awe-inspiring. One of the things about this series that I find completely fascinating is hearing more about the sexual realities of the various times that it's set in -- as a modern person, it's hard to imagine -- how did people deal with lack of contraception? How far did the "proper" folks go? Very interesting to see how that plays out, and I thought the sojourn in Alexandria with the swinging set was an interesting addition, if very uncomfortable to listen to.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It has been a while since my last visit to Ballybucklebo, and I frequently found myself wondering how Barry and Sue's romance was going, how Fingal and Kitty were settling into married life, and how the other residents of the village were doing. I finally pulled this book off the shelf and dove in. Like the book Fingal O'Reilly, Irish Doctor, this book bounces back and forth between the past and Fingal's current life. While the transitions aren't seamless, for the most part, they aren't jarring either.The story opened with the village preparing to celebrate the marriage of Kinky and Archie, and the many people who want to make it a memorable day. Fingal's skills as a peacemaker and negotiator became vital when battle lines were drawn between two groups over the proper way to decorate the church. I loved his common sense approach to bringing compromise to the combatants. The upcoming marriage made a good segue into the next chapter, which was a flashback to Fingal as he prepared to propose to his first wife, Dierdre. There is a romantic heart inside the sometimes gruff doctor, and I felt his frustration as his "right moment" got wrecked. But his Dierdre is not high maintenance, and I loved seeing her handle it all with ease and grace.For the modern side of the story, I always enjoy the adventures of Fingal, Barry, and the people of the village. It opened on a high note, with the wedding of Kinky and Archie. It was a beautiful ceremony, but as frequently happens in this village, there was a touch of excitement. Young Colin Brown brought an uninvited guest with him to the ceremony, a guest whose presence was not appreciated by the ladies. I had to laugh at the chaos and cheered as Kinky herself used humor and practicality to return peace to the day. Colin played an ongoing role in this book, as Fingal and Barry's girl, the schoolteacher, tried to find a way to show Colin's father that there was a wider world of opportunities available for Colin. Help with that came from a very unexpected source, leaving Fingal shaking his head in disbelief. The life of a country GP is never dull, and Fingal faced everything from German measles to gout to a medical mystery that was solved by reaching back into his wartime memories. He even brought Kitty along on one case, as the doctor and the midwife used their skills to bring a new life into the village. It's not all sunshine and roses for Fingal though when a blast from Kitty's past unsettled him. I ached a bit for Fingal, as he knew he was unreasonable, but he couldn't help it. I liked that he was smart enough to talk to his brother, who helped him through it. I was a little disappointed in not seeing Barry actually propose to Sue after all this time, but I look forward to seeing more of them in the future.The flashback part of the book was fascinating for me. Just as Fingal was settling into his work in Ballybucklebo, World War Two broke out, and he was called up. As a naval reservist, he was assigned to become a medical officer on HMS Warspite. Within hours of arriving on the ship, Fingal found himself delivering his first anesthetic for the senior surgeon doing an emergency appendectomy. Fingal was nervous, bordering on terrified as he began his duties, as he had no experience treating war wounds and there were more than a thousand men on that ship alone. But he learned quickly and did well. I enjoyed his insights into what went on around him, from witnessing the firing of the big guns to his feelings on the wasted lives. His descriptions of the battles were vividly portrayed, leading me to discover that the Warspite was a real ship and the actions described really happened. His times with Dierdre were few and far between, but their love was a source of strength for both of them. I did have a few bad moments while Fingal was in Egypt and the loneliness and a flirtatious Navy wife created some unexpected temptation. I loved seeing Fingal get to spend time with the ship's navigator, his friend Tom Laverty, who would eventually become Barry's father.I'm looking forward to the next book and getting to see more of the time that Fingal and Dierdre spent together, as well as the progression of life in the village of Ballybucklebo.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Re-read 2018This book looks more in-depth at Dr. O'Reilly's time on a warship during World War II. It also has some flash-forwards to the late 1960's in Northern Ireland which is the present day for this series. There are fewer patients seen in this book, with more of every day, non-work, issues taking over the narrative. While I enjoyed this book, I didn't like it as much as the earlier books in the series. I'm starting to get into the books that I haven't read before and hope that more of the doctor part of the series comes back.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The novel is set in Ulster in 1939 &1966. It follows the continuous story of Doctor Fingal O'Reilly from earlier novels in the series. In this volume, he serves in the Royal Navy with alternate chapters covering his service on the Battleship Warspite in 1940 with his work as a doctor in 1966 rural Ulster. Warspite was a real British vessel and the actions described in the battles O'Reilly experiences on board her are very accurate especially the work of the medical team saving wounded sailors. His descriptions of Alexandria, Egypt, the harbour they sailed from, are so clear one is able to almost smell the spices and camel dung.In the portions of the novel set in 1966, we meet the Doctor's new wife Kitty but he frequently tells about his first wife Deirdre. We learn she was killed but are not told how. Apparently this is to be revealed in the next novel in the series. We do meet many characters that populate the village of Ballybucklebo and they seek medical and emotional assistance from the doctor. As the author is a doctor, he is able to give vivid descriptions of medical procedures such as child birth or amputations.Lots of romance for those seeking a romantic read. I read it for the WW II descriptions but found the scenes set in the Irish village interesting too and assume them to be accurate as the author did come from there although he now lives on Saltspring Island, British Columbia.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I always enjoy this series. This "episode" is set in the 60's but flashes back to when he was a doctor in WWII on the "HMS Warspite." It also tells about his getting to know and becoming engaged to his first wife, Dierdre. It gives quite a bit of technical information about the ship he served on, but it is still pretty interesting. It intimates at the end that the story of his marriage to Dierdre was a story that couldn't/wouldn't be told right not, but would be told later. So, I guess we know what the next book is going to be about! I enjoyed it, as usual :)