An Irishman's Difficulties With The Dutch Language Written at the beginning of the 20th century by the Rev. J. Irwin Brown, this hilarious book describes the attempts of Jack O’Neill, an Irish gentleman visiting The Hague, to learn the Dutch language. Pitfalls there are many and he finds them all! Read about his attempts: to buy pens; to order lemon-squash; to send a parcel; to talk to De Mijnheer Bevolkings Register Bureau. You won’t stop laughing, I guarantee you! The author was the Irishman, John Irvin Browne (1887 - 1934) who was the vicar at the Scottish Presbyterian Church in Rotterdam. This book costs seven US dollars - $7 - and is available in an Adobe PDF format file. The .pdf file downloads automatically after payment is completed. Contact.