BOOK

"Irish Travelers, Tinkers No More"

By Alen MacWeeney

IN the summer of 1965, an Irish photographer named Alen MacWeeny stood in a lonely field on the outskirts of Dublin that was strewn with scrap metal - the campsite of native Irish travelers, who at the time were called gypsies, or more commonly tinkers, but who in fact were unrelated to those European tribes.

A middle class Dubliner, MacWeeney had a deep distrust of his subjects, but over time he found himself being drawn in to their initially mysterious community. The resultant photographs he took are astonishing, vividly depicting a parallel world - a self-sustaining one of privation and fierce pride.

"I felt the need to show the world (or at least Dublin) what it had dismissed or overlooked," MacWeeney writes in the foreword to this remarkable new book.

New England College Press $37.80

FILM

"Reservation Road"

IRISH director Terry George's heart-pounding new thriller examines the quest for revenge and where it can lead you.

On a beautiful September evening, Connecticut college professor Ethan Learner (Joaquin Phoenix), his wife Grace (Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly), their daughter Emma and their 10-year-old son Josh all stop at a gas station on Reservation Road. There, in one sickening instant, a hit and run driver takes Josh from them.

Dwight Arno (Mark Ruffalo) plays the driver of the fatal SUV - and in the aftermath of the accident he panics and speeds away. Haunted by the tragedy, both fathers react in unexpected ways as a dangerous reckoning looms between them.

"Reservation Road" opens nationwide on Friday.

CONCERT

Morrissey, Hammerstein Ballroom

STEPHEN Patrick Morrissey, former lead singer of the Smiths, still has a stranglehold on a generation of ardent music fans, and his forthcoming five nights at the Hammerstein Ballroom - October 22, 23, 26, 27, 28 - will only ensure that his reign continues.

Expect to hear classic Smiths songs and more recent solo offerings, and don't forget to bring a bouquet of gladioli.

Morrissey at the Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 West 34th Street, New York. For tickets visit www.ticketmaster.com

PLAY

"Sive" by John B. Keane

"SIVE," which opened the Irish Repertory Theatre's new season, was the celebrated playwright's first produced play. Originally staged in 1959, when it caused a sensation, Sive is the thoroughly atavistic tale of a tragic conflict between the generations that is as familiar in its own way as a work by Sophocles.

In language as rich as a French casserole, Keane introduces us to his young heroine, a woman who is being forced into a marriage against her will.

The Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 West 22nd Street, New York. For tickets call 212-727-2737.