Three men on an island - James MacIntyre

Really enjoyed this memoir from the reserved shelves of Libraries NI.  An account of three artists, George Campbell, Gerard Dillon and James MacIntyre spending the summer of 1951 on the Island of Inishlacken on the western coast of Ireland across from Roundstone, County Galway. James was the youngest of the three and the author of the memoir. Gerard died in 1971, George in 1979 and James in 2015.

What I liked about this memoir was the sense of comradeship and adventure back in the early 1950s. The stories of the artistic community in Belfast of the time and the familiar (to me) places mentioned all combined to keep me turning the pages. There are delightful pen portraits of the characters and islanders. The observations on the work of artists developing their style were fascinating.

I went in search of this book having heard about it through the publicity for an event in the FE McWilliam Gallery in Banbridge. Back in November 2025 the Friends of the Gallery hosted an artist talk by Rosie McGurran on the Inislacken Project in County Galway. Sadly I didn't make it to that and went in search of the book. The local library worked the magic!

Published by The Blackstaff Press, Belfast in 1996 it is handsomely produced with dozens of line drawings, colour reproductions and photographs on high quality paper - a pleasure to hold.

I've rated it highly as I often do for books that I would like to read again and would like to have on my shelves at home. I have noticed that it fetches a high price from resellers online. I suppose that's the way of art and artists. They scratch out living, selling their work to buy materials and their next meal. Then when they leave us their work attracts a posthumous fortune.

I am delighted that the author recorded that summer and gave us a chance to share in that memory. 

A delight.

Details:

Title: Three Men on an Island

Author: James MacIntyre

Published: The Blackstaff Press, Belfast 1996

ISBN: 0-85640-582-5

Sea Skin - Niamh Seana Meehan at The Mac Belfast

Visited this exhibition at TheMacBelfast today. Okay the sound was off but that didn't detract from a wonderful deepdive into the sea bed.  I'll be back to experience it again.  It's on to January.

Why?

The dark is inviting.  The colours stand out.  I didn't touch but Oh... how I wished to roll in that seaweed texture. Wonderful!

The textures, the colours, the shapes, the fabrics. The creative process.  

Do yourself a favour. If you are near this immerse yourself and

Let flow!

November 2025 Reads

Four reads for November.  Not weighty tomes this time but already sure that there will be plenty of stimulating content.

Fiction: Breaking Point by Edel COFFEY

Non-fiction: Women and Power, a manifesto by Mary BEARD

French literature: L'Heure Exquise by Dominique BARBÉRIS

Poetry and Drama: Red Velvet by Lolita CHAKRABARTI

I've set myself a new goal of reading a lot more non-fiction - a genre that will include essays, biographies and commentaries.  Add to that a work of fiction each month as well as a French text and some poetry/drama.

We'll see how that develops.

The Red-Haired Woman : Orhan PAMUK

Managed to squeeze-in-a-read on our trip in Turkey.  How appropriate that it should be Orhan PAMUK's The Red-Haired Woman.  I thoroughly enjoyed this story which reprised aspects of the Oedipus myth - the interplay of tensions between fathers and sons. The context of the novel is well-digging in a small town on the outskirts of Istanbul. The red-haired woman is a member of a travelling troup of actors who visit the town. She becomes the object of our narrator's attention. There is a connection with the father.

A terrible accident occurs and there follows decades of repressed guilt... and an unexpected denouement. 

The story definitely kept my interest and the final pages definitely caught me off guard. Reading those I simply had to go back and restart the novel. Really?  Check it out - you'll get my drift.

It was fascinating to read a novel in situ - travelling through parts of Istanbul mentioned in the story. I finished it while there but I didn't take the book home with me, passing it on to to a fellow traveller who would be staying longer in the city. I wonder did he manage to finish it.  Leave it there?

Before parting with the book I scribbled my email address inside the back cover. 

I wonder where it is now.

A book set adrift - a bottle in a literary sea. Thousands of miles away. 

Will its ripples reach back?

 

The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods

 

Wasn't able to make this event - abroad on travels - but have read the book which I much enjoyed.

Anyone out there attend? Reaction?

What a great idea.

The logo at Ephesus

 

The guide asked us to stop in front of this stone fragment on our visit to Ephesus in Turkey. 

"What does it remind you of?" she asked. 

Not being that sporty I didn't see the connection immediately.

But now, I cannot not see it.

According to the guide it was the inspiration for a widely recognised logo.

Do you see it?

It is an image of the Greek winged goddess Nike. She symbolises victory not just in wars but in more peaceful pursuits such as games and athletics.  She is renowned for her speed and strength.

I guess the resulting stylised logo ticked all the right boxes.

October 2025 Reads

 

I am plannig to read these four books this month. 

My Name Is Red. Orhan PAMUK

The heftiest by far is Orhan PAMUK's My Name Is Red published in 2001 by Faber&Faber.  We are holidaying in Turkey soon and as I like to read literature from the country I am visiting I thought this would hit the spot. Mind you, I'll have to be mindful of baggage allowances and so perhaps an e-version or audiobook might be more practical for carrying around.

Here's some info on the book from Faber&Faber

This train is for.  Bernie McGill

It's Book Week NI later this month and local writer Bernie McGill will be sharing some readings and reflections at Suffolk Library where I attend a monthly reading group.  I've already started this one having picked it up at the library last week. The book, a collection of short stories, was published by No Alibis Press in 2022. Here's some details from the publisher and information from the author herself here.

There are plenty of events on for book week so why not check out librariesni.org.uk for details?

No et moi. Delphine de VIGAN

This is my French read for October. It has been selected for discussion by our French circle. It was chosen because a previous meeting had considered the author's Les Enfants Sont Rois which generated plenty of comments.  No et moi has been translated into English, is offered as an audiobook and has been made into a film. I tend to read my French titles as ebooks.  The reader offers the possibility of immediate translation and as often as not I find I have to look up clarifications of geographical or historical references. 
Here are some details from Goodreads.

and finally

Written on the body.  Jeanette Winterson

Carrying on the library connection this is one I ordered a while back and which has eventually arrived. I had read a review of it some time ago and felt I had to read it. The author is one of my heroes - I follow her pieces on Substack which I find challenging.  A way with words!  

Check out some information on the title from Penguin here.

Looking forward to getting lost in these pages. 

Happy reading!