Clonmac's Bridge
Jeffrey Perren, 2014
ClioStory Publishing
428 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781496179913
Summary
Inspired by a real discovery, Clonmac’s Bridge revolves around the effort to raise Ireland’s earliest major span. But, far from a naturalistic depiction of a maritime archaeology project, it is a dramatic exploration: the story of two men who struggle against envy and mediocrity—a millennium apart.
One is Griffin Clonmac, archaeologist and professor at the University of Virginia. For 14 years he has researched a medieval bridge near Clonmacnoise Monastery in Ireland, supposed to lie beneath the River Shannon. Yet, he soon discovers the bridge is perfectly intact—after 12 centuries underwater.
What could account for this astounding longevity? And why are his colleagues, the Church, and the Irish government so desperate to prevent him finding out? Drawing the reader back to the early 9th century—and the life of the original builder—provides important clues. Moving between these two periods, the reader is immersed in the conflicts—then and now—between creators and the envious mediocrities who want to stop them at all costs. Fortunately, each man had his allies.
In the 9th century, architect Riordan finds a few willing to help him realize his vision. At the monastery, a wise friend; in the nearby town, a dashing giant as eager to build as the medieval monk himself. When the Abbot is called away on Church business to the court of Carolus Magnus—Charlemagne—Riordan and his friends will have their chance. In the 21st century, Griffin Clonmac is first saddled with an assistant—Peruvian archaeologist Mari Quispe—intended to hinder him at every turn. Being impossible to work with is, after all, her reputation on a dig. But the scheming academics who foist her on him at the price of supporting the project have a surprise in store. Not only has she admired Dr. Clonmac for years, she very quickly finds herself willing to help him raise more than a 9th century platform.
What happens next enmeshes the reader in everything from down-and-dirty academic politics to Machiavellian corporate machinations to the headlines of contemporary Irish social controversy. Flashing back to Dark Ages Ireland shows that, in many ways, very little has changed in the past 1,200 years. (From the publisher.)