A Celtic Childhood vividly portrays Bill Watkins' eccentric Celtic family: his vibrant Irish mam whose "hand is on the tiller" as head of household; his principled but stout-loving Welsh dad; and his Grandda, who has "a generous supply of Celtic songs and tall stories." These tales from Watkins’ boyhood find him disrupting weddings while dressed as a gangster, illegally operating a ham radio, and getting kicked out of Ireland for "vagrancy." The lively anecdotes of A Celtic Childhood sing from the page with a keen sense of rhythm.