The Hungry Grass
Richard power
Richard Power’s masterpiece is available again in a handsome new paperback edition. Power was born in Dublin in 1928 and joined the Civil Service after completing a degree in English literature at Trinity College.
First published in 1969, The Hungry Grass is a compelling account of the last year in the life of a parish priest, Tom Conroy. It is an insightful depiction of a priest’s daily ministry, a sort of Irish equivalent of Bernanos’ Diary of a Country Priest.
Conroy is a strong-willed, forceful administrator of a rural parish situated near his birthplace, Rosnagree. As a child, his desire had been to take over the family farm, but when his older brother Frank left the seminary, Tom decided to take his place. He was offered a scholarship to the national seminary in Maynooth, which he refused. Subsequently, the other priests in his diocese view him with a mixture of fear and respect, recognising his intellectual superiority and deep spirituality.
