A memoir of life in Ireland's rural County Donegal. "Full of emotional truth and the beauty of immediate, trusting speech, overbrimming with folklore of great imaginative richness."-Seamus Heaney. Edited with an Introduction by Brian Friel. When Charles McGlinchey (1861-1954) was in his eighties, local school teacher Patrick Kavanaugh decided to record the stories McGlinchey told him during their biweekly visits. McGlinchey, a weaver living in a small parish in County Donegal, Ireland, had never married and had outlived all his family (thus the book's title). Fascinated by the parish's local history and lore, Kavanaugh recorded McGlinchey's autobiography in his own repetitive colloquial speech, mixing English and Irish with occasional bog Latin. Thirty years later, the manuscript found its way to Brian Friel, who gave the oral history its present form. Originally published in Belfast in 1986, this book reads like a collaboration between Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes) and Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie). Evoking herbal remedies while ignoring the world wars, this evocation of a simpler time is recommended for libraries with Irish literature and genealogy collections.APam Kingsbury, Florence, AL Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. “His voice is wonderfully appealing...” ―Carol Peace Robins, The New York Times “A small and beautiful collection of folksy stories...” ― Kirkus Reviews “...This evocation of a simpler time is recommended...” ― Library Journal Charles McGlinchey (1861-1954) was a weaver by trade, and lived his entire life on the Inishowen peninsula in the northwest of Ireland. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, McGlinchey dictated his personal memories of life and Irish history to a local schoolmaster, and these eventually formed his memoirs entitled The Last of the Name . Used Book in Good Condition