The Bodhran Makers

John B. Keane, the Irish playwright and writer, sets this novel in the Irish countryside during the 1950s. Its plot follows a long-running clash between rough, heavy-drinking rural farmers and the Catholic Church, a conflict that gives the story its weight.

At its center are the bodhran makers of the title, a community of people who have little money but keep their self-respect. Each January they mark their Celtic roots with a festival of song, drink and music. The bodhran is a frame drum traditionally made from goatskin, and the book's name is pronounced bough-rawn.