An Irish Country Village

By: Patrick Taylor M.D.

Narrated by: John Keating

Welcome to the Village of Ballybucklebo. Come and say hello to Dr. O'Reilly's odd-as-two-left feet patients, his housekeeper, Mrs. "Kinky" Kinkaid, and O'Reilly's pets, Arthur Guinness, the beer-swilling black Lab and Lady MacBeth, the demonically possessed white cat. And of course, to young Dr. Barry Laverty. After Barry's first month as an assistant to crusty Dr. O'Reilly, he has been offered a permanent spot. But Laverty's excitement is dashed when one of his patients unexpectedly dies. The damage to his reputation is enormous, and he and O'Reilly must work to resolve the question of Barry's responsibility for the death. They also have to figure out how to save the four-hundred-year-old village pub. Plans are afoot to not renew the hundred-year lease and instead transform the old pub into a sparkling new tourist trap. To make matters even worse, Patricia Spence, the love of Barry's life, announces she is trying to win a scholarship to distant Cambridge University, all the way in England.... Beautifully evocative of a gentler, simpler time, Patrick Taylor's An Irish Country Village magically captures the charm, wit, and ribald humor of a vanished Irish countryside and its people.

©2008 Patrick Taylor (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“So, have a wee listen to Patrick Taylor's sequel to An Irish Country Doctor and if you're not charmed by the lives, loves and longings of the feisty folks of Ballybucklebo, County Ulster, Northern Ireland, I'll eat my hat, so I will. Read in a beguiling brogue by John Keating...Taylor peoples thatched-roofed Ballybucklebo with quirky characters...'Tis a grand place, one I hope we'll have many occasions to revisit.” —BookPage

A wonderful getaway

I loved this book. It wasn't hard to get into, the characters are warm and real. John Keating is the perfect narrator who gives the story a feeling of validity. If you want to curl up with a cup of tea and get away, this is it, as are the sequels.

This is a great series!

What made the experience of listening to An Irish Country Village the most enjoyable?

A continuation of the story. You feel like you are part of the story.

What other book might you compare An Irish Country Village to and why?

Any number of Maeve Binchy stories, simple uncomplicated, down to earth tales.

What does John Keating bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A consistent narration giving a unique characterization and personality to the characters

Who was the most memorable character of An Irish Country Village and why?

Dr. O'Rielly and Dr. Laverty.

Just what I needed!

The Irish Country novels are just what I needed ! This is June 2020 and many upsetting things are happening in the world and especially in the US: the corona virus shutdown (3 months and counting) and the raging protest demonstrations against police brutality....complete with shootings, fires, looting, and destruction. I can hardly stand to turn on the television.

The Patrick Taylor books are a wonderful escape to 1960's Ireland where the life is pleasant and even the not-so-good people aren't really so bad.

I plan to work my way through the entire series!

The second delightful story in this series

Would you consider the audio edition of An Irish Country Village to be better than the print version?

Absolutely. John Keating's dialog and characters are wonderful and add a tremendous amount to understanding the story, IMO. My husband has read the books (unknown to me) and enjoyed listening to the audio version, too.

What did you like best about this story?

This series is an interesting and delightful story of a young doctor in Northern Ireland in the 1960s. It's good clean fun and includes lots of humor.

If you could take any character from An Irish Country Village out to dinner, who would it be and why?

"Kinky" Kincaid, the housekeeper, cook, trouser-mender, and overall caretaker of the two doctors of Ballybucklebo. She has "the gift" and knows everyone in the village. Her wise council is invaluable.

Any additional comments?

Although the story dragged a bit, I thought it was almost as compelling and fun as the first book. I look forward to reading/listening to the rest of the series.

As you enter this well defined little world, you quickly escape your own...

This very well constructed story combined with the remarkable talent of the narrator made this listening experience extremely enjoyable. I also want to add that the author detailed description of the characters’ different postures made each one of them come alive in front of my eyes.

Superb and Engaging

Just like his first effort, with An Irish Country Village,Taylor has another winner! He never fails to delight with his heady tales of County Down. I'm off to get started on his third installment of this lovely series!

Enjoyable but not as good as first

This story was quite enjoyable and continues the story of Dr. Laverdy as he works to make his home in Northern Ireland. The narration by John Keating was again excellent! As some reviews have mentioned the constant second guessing and fretting of young Dr. Laverdy got old. His constant trying to figure out what his boss's motivations were. The characters are still rich and enjoyable. Overall a very pleasant comfortable sort of book.

Gentleness, something not seen much of today

Thoroughly enjoyable, a gentle story that keeps your interest to the end. The recipes at the end were a bonus

Engaging

Where does An Irish Country Village rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This entire series is outstanding. I look forward to the next book.

Which character – as performed by John Keating – was your favorite?

All for different reasons

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I had that much time. I listen as much as I can

Any additional comments?

No doubts about the book or series

irish country

Would you listen to An Irish Country Village again? Why?

yes it is a good story funny people and irish humour

Who was your favorite character and why?

fingal

Have you listened to any of John Keating’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

yes he make the irish country series a good listen

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

doc martin in irish