We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland
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- Author：Fintan O'Toole
- ISBN：1631496530
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Summary
A quarter-century after Frank McCourt’s extraordinary bestseller， Angela’s Ashes， Fintan O’Toole， one of the Anglophone world’s most consummate stylists， continues the narrative of modern Ireland into our own time。 O’Toole was born in the year the revolution began。 It was 1958， and the Irish government—in despair， because all the young people were leaving—opened the country to foreign investment。 So began a decades-long， ongoing experiment with Irish national identity。
Weaving his own experiences into this account of Irish social， cultural， and economic change， O’Toole shows how Ireland， in just one lifetime， has gone from a Catholic “backwater” to an almost totally open society。 A sympathetic-yet-exacting observer， O’Toole shrewdly weighs more than sixty years of globalization， delving into the violence of the Troubles and depicting， in biting detail， the astonishing collapse of the once-supreme Irish Catholic Church。 The result is a stunning work of memoir and national history that reveals how the two modes are inextricable for all of us。
Weaving his own experiences into this account of Irish social， cultural， and economic change， O’Toole shows how Ireland， in just one lifetime， has gone from a Catholic “backwater” to an almost totally open society。 A sympathetic-yet-exacting observer， O’Toole shrewdly weighs more than sixty years of globalization， delving into the violence of the Troubles and depicting， in biting detail， the astonishing collapse of the once-supreme Irish Catholic Church。 The result is a stunning work of memoir and national history that reveals how the two modes are inextricable for all of us。
Reviews
Michael Reilly
，
This is a really smart and wise book。 It is a mostly social history of Ireland from 1958 to 2018。 O'Toole is a brilliant journalist。 He has reported on the big issues and stories in Ireland over the last forty years。 His book "Ship of Fools" was the definitive telling of the collapse of the Irish bubble in the 2000s。 This is a very clever mixing of history and memoir。 O'Toole says in the acknowledgement that "my life is too boring for a memoir。" What he has done instead， is to weave his life int This is a really smart and wise book。 It is a mostly social history of Ireland from 1958 to 2018。 O'Toole is a brilliant journalist。 He has reported on the big issues and stories in Ireland over the last forty years。 His book "Ship of Fools" was the definitive telling of the collapse of the Irish bubble in the 2000s。 This is a very clever mixing of history and memoir。 O'Toole says in the acknowledgement that "my life is too boring for a memoir。" What he has done instead， is to weave his life into the story of modern Ireland。 He grew up in Crumlin， one of the first Irish housing projects。 He uses it as a way to discuss class and poverty in Ireland。 He approaches the massive heroin problem in the 1980s by talking about the Dunne brothers， Ireland's first heroin drug kings。 They grew up in his neighborhood。The book highlightes how little I know about modern Irish history。 Ireland sent hundreds of soldiers to the Congo in the early 60s for a UN peacekeeping story。 They fought a historic battle。 O'Toole's uncle was one of the soldiers。 He was reported as dead， but he survived。 O'Toole has chapters on the dance halls and a small Irish town where a statute of Mary mysteriously moves and on the growth of the 'bungalow" as the distinctive Irish home。 He also wrestles the three big Irish stories， the Church， the IRA and politics。 He very gradually builds the case that all three of them were based on an agreement that no one would talk about the evil things they knew。 The Church was puritanical and severe。 No one talked about the pedophile priest， the child slavery homes or the hypocritical priests。 The IRA preached democracy and nobility。 Its followers just refused to look at the horrors of innocent people killed。 The politicians preached the Ireland was a special and blessed land dedicated to higher things。 No one mentioned the open secret that Charles Haughey ， the leading politician of modern Ireland， was a philanderer who took bribes and kickbacks at amazing levels。 and that he was the tip of a corrupt pile。 O'Toole tells a great story about a reporter who kept asking Haughey， who lived like a millionaire on his politician's salary， "where did you get your money？" Haughey always blew the question off。 The other reporters thought the question was out of line。 This is the story of all three silences ending。 The Church was disgraced。 The IRA had to accept that it could not make Northern Ireland part of the South。 Haughey and his crowd were exposed。 Of course that whole mess was promptly followed by the "Irish Tiger"， the investment and real estate boom that lead to the next bust。O'Toole is a story teller first。 The book is filled with great scenes。 He is wonderful on character sketches and vignettes that sum it up。-Ben Dunne， the heir to a shopping fortune， who ends up on a cocaine binge in Miami。-The beef baron Larry Goodman who started with a butcher shop on the north/south border and ends up being able to pay Haughey millions in bribes。 -O'Toole's father was a bus driver。 One day he saw Muhamed Ali and his entourage doing road work on the street。 He stopped and Ali got on the bus and joked around。 Ali was in Ireland for a fight but he told reporters that what he really wanted to do was to met with Bernadette Devlin。 The book is chock full of good stories， important details and statistics and sound analysis。 A very smart and knowledgeable observer who is a wonderful writer tells an important story。 。。。more
Eamon Somers
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I am just a few years older than Fintan， grew up about a mile from him， and lived through the stories and histories he shares with us。 Absolutely spot on。 My own versions of those times are told as fiction， but it is lovely to have my impressions confirmed by such a great journalist。 Eamon
Peter
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“We ended up……。。not so bad ourselves”As a recent immigrant to Ireland I found this series of personal essays by this engaging and sometimes provocative writer provided a fascinating glimpse into the recent history of the Irish， as well as some insights into the evolving zeitgeist of this fine country。Highly recommended for blow-ins like me。
Neil Fox
，
Scarcely has any European country undergone such a radical transformation in such a relatively short time as Ireland。 Anyone born in Ireland from 1990 onwards would scarcely recognize the country as it was in the 50’s and 60’s， just as any citizens of those decades would view the landscape of the nation today as a territory more alien than the surface of the moon should they be magically transported there by the fairies。 The country’s best known social and political commentator and columnist Fin Scarcely has any European country undergone such a radical transformation in such a relatively short time as Ireland。 Anyone born in Ireland from 1990 onwards would scarcely recognize the country as it was in the 50’s and 60’s， just as any citizens of those decades would view the landscape of the nation today as a territory more alien than the surface of the moon should they be magically transported there by the fairies。 The country’s best known social and political commentator and columnist Fintan O’Toole charts the journey in parallel with his own lifetime of experiences from his birth in 1958 up to the present time。 Post war Ireland was an agricultural backwater， an economic basket case whose lack of prospects continued to drive its young people to emigration as in times of old。 The country was held under the yolk of the power of the Catholic Church and a suffocating toxic nationalism that viewed history through the prism of the misty romantic past。 Limited economic progress in the the 60’s and 70’s did not bring attendant social change， but the seismic forces that would grind the tectonic plates of modernity and tradition up against each other with such violent force were already beginning to gather。O’Toole comes to the fore in his breathless descriptions of the 1980’s， Ireland’s nightmare decade which effectively ran from 1979 to 1992。 One almost finds oneself humming the events and names of the period to the tune of Billy Joel’s ‘we didn’t start the fire’ - the late late show， Pope John Paul II， heroin， Magdalene laundries， mother and child homes， Charlie Haughey， hunger strikes， moving statues， Kerry babies。 What limited economic progress had been made in the previous decades were undone in a prolonged recession as a new generation of young people emigrated en masse while at home the endless corruption of Fianna Fáil and Charlie Haughey played out to a backdrop of ceaseless violence as the troubles in the North escalated。 The 80’s were the decade in which the Catholic Church attained the apex of its power with the abortion amendment and divorce referendum。 O’Toole with his eloquent and flowing style directs a pithy， righteous and scathing but low key vehemence at the Catholic Church and its crimes and hypocrisy。 His ironic humor evokes disbelief as well as laughter with passages describing how priests feared the ‘inherent danger of allowing boys and girls of ages 12 to 16 to travel unsupervised to school together’。The second - and shorter - part of the book deals with the transformation from the mid-90’s that brings us to the Ireland of today， underwritten by 3 key elements - an economic Great Leap Forward， peace in the North and the unraveling of the Catholic Church as the extent of its crimes and cover up of abuse was laid bare。 Again， the soundtrack to the 90’s and noughties runs - Mary Robinson， American investment， Riverdance， Jack Charlton， the Good Friday agreement， the Celtic Tiger， multiculturalism。O’Toole succinctly lays bare a key National characteristic that describes how and why things have been like they are in Ireland， a recurring theme that serves as an all-encompassing explanation - the Irish peculiarity of turning the blind eye， of knowing and not knowing at the same time， of don’t ask / don’t tell， of the facade being more important than the building behind。 By another expression， hypocrisy; the culture of cronyism or ‘cute hoorism’， that while amusing as it might seem nonetheless permitted double standards to prevail which led to child abuse， endemic corruption and retarded economic development。 For anyone seeking to understand the rapid change that Ireland as a society has undergone in the past 6 decades， this， along with the books of David McWilliams， is the most important work to date on the story of our green and pleasant island in its momentous， turbulent and startling journey。 A society， which， in the course of a single lifetime， went from being one which incarcerated single mothers in Victorian church-run workhouses to one which became the first to legalize same sex marriage under the leadership of an openly gay prime minister。 。。。more
Peter Thew
，
A truly extraordinary read。 O'Toole was born in 1958 and this book tracks the societal changes that have happened in Ireland since his birth。 We have moved from a society whose framework and moral sensibilities were determined by the Catholic church and enforced by a succession of Fianna Fail governments to a society which is largely non-religious and governed by a series of coalition governments of various hues。 He identifies and comments on the various steps along that road - the various const A truly extraordinary read。 O'Toole was born in 1958 and this book tracks the societal changes that have happened in Ireland since his birth。 We have moved from a society whose framework and moral sensibilities were determined by the Catholic church and enforced by a succession of Fianna Fail governments to a society which is largely non-religious and governed by a series of coalition governments of various hues。 He identifies and comments on the various steps along that road - the various constitutional referenda which at first re-inforced the prohibition on divorce and abortion and then passed both and the marriage equality edition。 And as the influence of the Catholic church diminished so did Fianna Fail's spurred on by its perceived role in the rise and fall of the Celtic Tiger economy。 For anyone who has lived through the past 50+ years in ireland， this is essential reading。 。。。more
David
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This is a great book and I’m going to give it such an enthusiastic review that I feel obligated to mention here at the beginning that I received a free electronic copy for review。I read an article by a movie reviewer once who complained that， while there are seemingly endless ways to criticize a movie， there are only a limited number of ways to praise one。 I feel the same way about this book， but I’m going to give this book the same praise that I’ve given to certain great books I’ve read in the This is a great book and I’m going to give it such an enthusiastic review that I feel obligated to mention here at the beginning that I received a free electronic copy for review。I read an article by a movie reviewer once who complained that， while there are seemingly endless ways to criticize a movie， there are only a limited number of ways to praise one。 I feel the same way about this book， but I’m going to give this book the same praise that I’ve given to certain great books I’ve read in the past: It’s both informative and just plain fun to read， it’s occasionally quite funny， I read some sections out loud to the Long-Suffering Wife （LSW）， and I neglected other books （including some by respected scholars and best-selling authors） that I had in progress in order to enjoy reading this book。I guess that this book is not for everybody， but more’s the pity for them。 As an American of Irish heritage， I come at this book with more interest in the topic than the average guy but also yawning gaps in my knowledge， because， well， I’m busy and life is full of stuff to pay attention to。 As a measure of my knowledge of modern Irish history， I offer this: If you threatened to shoot me dead unless I could name three Irish Prime Ministers， I’d probably survive， but if you increased the number to five， my existence would be in serious danger。 There was some Ireland-specific stuff that the author apparently thought his readers would know about （so they are unexplained）， but they didn’t make it over the Atlantic， at least not to where I was。 I list some of them below， in case your knowledge of things Irish is similar to mine:-- Oireachtas （Kindle location 1491）: roughly analogous to “legislature”， it includes the Irish Prime Minister， the largely symbolic President， and both houses of parliament。 Before researching this， I thought that “Dáil” was what the Irish called their Parliament， but that turns out to be the lower house only。-- Gaeltacht （l。 2245， 2833， 5848）: the ever-shrinking areas where the Irish language is spoken-- camogie （l。 2590）: “the distinctively Irish game for women”， looks like hurling or lacrosse if pictures on the internet are any indication-- the Táin （l。 2953）: it took a little while to extract this from Google， but finally I figured out that this probably means “Táin Bó Cúailnge”， a work of Irish literature from the first century CE。-- Malebranche （l。 3862）: Nicolas Malebranche （1638-1715）， French Catholic priest and philosopher-- Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann （l。 4040）: “Society of the Musicians of Ireland”-- “the deathless acronym GUBU” （l。 5305）: the author explains， immediately adjacent， that this acronym mean “grotesque， unbelievable， bizarre and unprecedented”。 OK， but why deathless？ The Wikipedia entry here explains。-- seanchaithe （l。 5418）: traditional Irish storyteller-- Iveagh Market （i。 6767）: former indoor market in central Dublin， now closed and the subject of a legal battle-- Tánaiste （l。 7999）: deputy head of the government of IrelandIn addition， O’Toole’s wide-ranging vocabulary of words not directly related to Irish culture gave the dictionary function on my Kindle quite a workout。 Examples: pookas， metonymy， boreen， demotics， Sodality， caudillo， bonhams， almoners， gallous， carapace， anomie， emollient， subventions， soutane。All this stuff above required additional research， but I repeat that this book was great fun to read。 When possible， O’Toole tries to start a chapter with a sentence that will grab and hold your interest， like “It was me that let the pigs out” （Chapter 13） and “I had no idea I was going to shout ‘Up the IRA’ at the Taoiseach [= Prime Minister]， Jack Lynch” （Chapter 15）， which often lead into a personal recollection which flows nicely into an explanation of recent Irish history。 The sentence about the pigs above leads into an especially interesting and entertaining chapter about O'Toole's childhood encounter with an Irish composer， Seán Ó Riada。 I never heard of him before and it turns out he had composed some beautiful music， most famously for the Stanley Kubrick film Barry Lyndon。 Hear a bit on YouTube here。It was interesting to read about what Dublin was like in the author’s childhood in the 1960s。 It was more like a small town than it is now （I imagine）， and certainly more like a small town than the places I knew where those of Irish heritage in the US occupied en masse during the same period。 Unlike the US， in Ireland， everybody seemed to know everybody， and ordinary folks could briefly rub elbows with the great。 It was possible for the author， as a child， to know a local sweet shop proprietor who became Lord Mayor of Dublin and was photographed enjoying a joke with President Kennedy in the Oval Office。 The author’s father， a bus driver， could one day make an unscheduled stop to pick up Muhammed Ali and entourage， running along a rural bus stop outside Dublin before a 1972 Dublin prize fight。 Ali， as was his wont， charmed O’Toole’s father， and also apparently the rest of Ireland as well。Here is a bit from the book that made me laugh out loud， springing from the fact that Ali apparently had one Irish-born great-grandfather （who knew？）: … while the insistence of journalists on asking him questions about his Irish roots threatened to ignite Ali’s anger， he defused a possible row with a graceful dismissal: ‘You can never tell。 There was a lot of sneakin’ around in them days。’ There was no better way to shut down a controversy in Ireland than by hinting that， if you really wanted to talk about it， you would have to talk about sex。 （l。 3585） I don’t want to give the idea， however， that this book is a blarney-laced sentiment memoir。 A lot of it is very serious， but there are no abrupt shifts of mood。 It just reflects the fact that Ireland， like most other places， is a story of tragedy laced with comedy -- or perhaps the other way around。I must admit to my shame that I was not aware of what monumental hypocrisy and shameless thievery was embodied in the person of Charles Haughey， who was Irish Prime Minister on and off from the late 1970s to the early 1990s。 When I first started to read O’Toole’s characterization of Haughey， I thought he was going a little overboard with the criticism， but later developments as narrated in this book proved that it is almost impossible to overstate his villainy。 “To call Haughey a hypocrite would be like calling Rembrandt a portraitist or Mozart a piano player” （l。 4686）。 Like in many other books， however， it is the bad guys who often make for the most entertaining reading。I also enjoyed explanations about how certain odd phrases appeared， and then faded， from common use， like 。。。 in the very early 1970s， a new phrase came into our language: we’re into Europe。 ‘How’re things？’ you’d ask， and the reply would be ‘Ah sure， we’re into Europe。’ Or ‘Isn’t it a grand day？’ someone would say， and you’d answer， ‘Oh， it is， sure we’re into Europe。’ （l。 3610） or When my mother-in-law was happy， she used a phrase she had learned in her childhood in rural Ireland in the 1930s。 If you served her a nice dinner， for example， and asked her how everything was she would sigh contentedly and say ‘Ah sure， it’s America at home。’ （l。 7289）The preceding are only a few of the many matters explored with clarity and a sense of what is entertaining and memorable。 The twist and turns of ‘The Troubles’ are clearly explained as they ricochet between tragedy， horror， and low comedy， with an eye for the telling details。 Some examples: the fight between the IRA and the family of a dead hunger striker over the manner the corpse will be buried， and a struggle in the mid-1990s over who would light the Belfast city Christmas tree -- President Clinton or the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers。The many sins of the Catholic Church and the eventual collapse of its moral， and political， authority are also chronicled clearly and tellingly， as the Irish eventually arrive at “the most shocking realization of all: the recognition by most of the faithful that they were in fact much holier than their preachers， that they had a clearer sense of right and wrong， a more honest and intimate sense of love and compassion and decency。” （l。 8439）Somewhat strangely for this pessimistic time， the book concludes on a up note about Ireland: “We had a furtive， anxious hidden self of optimism and decency， a self long clouded by hypocrisy and abstraction and held in check by fear。 This Ireland [has] stopped being afraid of itself。 Paranoia and pessimism lost our big time to the confident， hopeful， self-belief that Irish people have hidden from themselves for too long。” （l。 8356）This is a great book -- informative and more enjoyable than any other book I’ve read in a while。As mentioned， I received a free electronic advance review copy of this book from Liveright Publishing Corporation via Netgalley。 。。。more
David Kemple
，
Brilliant， particularly enjoyed the stories about Haughey and the Celtic Tiger
Boss Rutler
，
Fascinating to learn about the country where I was born。 It has given me huge insights into Irish culture and definitely great insights into my parents generation。 Both my parents were born in the early 1950's and I had no idea the poor state the country was in at that time。 Well I had an idea， but the truth was far worse than that。So listening to the book I imagined my parents navigating these times， and it provided me with great seeds to start conversations with them both， which led me to lear Fascinating to learn about the country where I was born。 It has given me huge insights into Irish culture and definitely great insights into my parents generation。 Both my parents were born in the early 1950's and I had no idea the poor state the country was in at that time。 Well I had an idea， but the truth was far worse than that。So listening to the book I imagined my parents navigating these times， and it provided me with great seeds to start conversations with them both， which led me to learn more about their individual lives。 That was the biggest plus from listening to this book。 Also he paints a much more realistic view of modern Ireland。 Some writers have nothing but praise for our current state， but I feel he comments perfectly on it。 Great read if you want to understand the generation that is our parents， and that are mainly still in power and making important decisions。。 。。。more
Rachel Barry
，
A beautifully crafted retelling of Ireland’s recent history。 For those who know of the stories， but don’t necessarily know them in their context， this is an essential read。 It helps place Modern Ireland in context and the little vignettes throughout （the Rose of Tralee coming from a Pan Am exec memo！） are thoroughly entertaining。 Highly recommended reading
Tamarindo
，
More than 700 pages， this long but absorbing book blends the personal journey of the wonderful Dublin writer and journalist Fintan O'Toole with Ireland's history since 1958， when he was born。 From a backward， rigidly Catholic place to the bling Celtic Tiger of the early 2000s and then a stoic climb back from its financial crash disaster， he takes us through many interesting events and changes。 Perhaps there is too much detail on the corrupt Charles Haughey's finances and the bankers' conniving w More than 700 pages， this long but absorbing book blends the personal journey of the wonderful Dublin writer and journalist Fintan O'Toole with Ireland's history since 1958， when he was born。 From a backward， rigidly Catholic place to the bling Celtic Tiger of the early 2000s and then a stoic climb back from its financial crash disaster， he takes us through many interesting events and changes。 Perhaps there is too much detail on the corrupt Charles Haughey's finances and the bankers' conniving ways that lead to the crash。 But O'Toole's sharp analysis， wit and insight are exceptional， and do justice to Ireland's complex， often dark but constantly evolving story。 。。。more
Aimee Croke
，
An insightful and sharp look at modern Irish history and how it shaped the political， economic and personal landscape of what it means to be Irish today
Tom
，
A fantastic read。 Really liked this book。
Anne Fitzgerald
，
For anyone interested in understanding Ireland， Fintan O’Tool’s essays are essential reading！
Rachel
，
We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland by Fintan O'Toole is a great memoir about growing up during the latter part of the 20th century during the many changes and transformations of Ireland as we know it。 Just fascinating。The author provides the reader through a series of essays， thoughts， reflections， and vignettes his own personal memoir as well as the history of Ireland and the monumental changes from external and internal sources to help create the society， culture， re We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland by Fintan O'Toole is a great memoir about growing up during the latter part of the 20th century during the many changes and transformations of Ireland as we know it。 Just fascinating。The author provides the reader through a series of essays， thoughts， reflections， and vignettes his own personal memoir as well as the history of Ireland and the monumental changes from external and internal sources to help create the society， culture， religious， geographical， and political landscapes that we know today。 The author does a great job of taking us into the heart of what it meant to live through such turbulent and complicated changes。 His ability to interweave his own experiences， thoughts， and opinions into a historical context was fascinating and thought-provoking。 I learned quite a bit just reading about his own experiences and I highly recommend this memoir for anyone interested in the modern history of Ireland。 5/5 stars Thank you NG and Liveright/W。 W。 Norton & Company for this stunning arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion。 I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon， Instagram， and B&N accounts upon publication on 3/15/22。 。。。more
Paul Nolan
，
An enjoyable and educational examination of the influences that have shaped Irish society over the past 50 years。 The players will be well known to any Irish person having grown up during this period: Gay Byrne， Eamonn Casey， Bobby Sands， Ben Dunne， JFK， The Pope… the list goes on。 Particularly scathing is the depiction of Charlie Haughey， whose open corruption and duplicitousness is scarcely believable even from this short distance。 5/5
Tony O Neill
，
I was born in 1953 in West Cork and left for a life in the UK when I was eleven years old， I then returned to Ireland over a period of sixty years for many holidays and rambles over the shamrock shore。This book has filled in all the spaces of my knowledge of the social changes that have occurred whilst away like so many millions of emigrants。 I found it a book that allowed me to understand the personalities and the organizations that have shaped both my parents prior to my birth and has I guess I was born in 1953 in West Cork and left for a life in the UK when I was eleven years old， I then returned to Ireland over a period of sixty years for many holidays and rambles over the shamrock shore。This book has filled in all the spaces of my knowledge of the social changes that have occurred whilst away like so many millions of emigrants。 I found it a book that allowed me to understand the personalities and the organizations that have shaped both my parents prior to my birth and has I guess shaped me and my attitudes during these years。A wonderful book 。。。more
Michael Kavanagh
，
Being born in 1960 myself - I had many 'I was there' moments reading through this。The improvements to simple living conditions in my rural home area in this span of time alone have been extraordinary - we were literally in another world back when I was a kid。Even before his distinguished career as a journalist Fintan was obviously aware of being witness to societal movements and changes that a lot of us probably did not regard as important at the time but all added to the making of the bigger pi Being born in 1960 myself - I had many 'I was there' moments reading through this。The improvements to simple living conditions in my rural home area in this span of time alone have been extraordinary - we were literally in another world back when I was a kid。Even before his distinguished career as a journalist Fintan was obviously aware of being witness to societal movements and changes that a lot of us probably did not regard as important at the time but all added to the making of the bigger picture we all enjoy （or do not enjoy！） today - itself only a 'work-in-progress' of course as commentators in 50 more years will point out。 It's a hefty enough tome that has to cover a lot of ground - but some notable omissions （in my opinion） to illustrate our progression to grown-up status as a nation would be extraordinary visit of Queen Elisabeth and the finely balanced 1916 centenary commemoration。 。。。more
Pat
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Being born just a few years after Fintan O’Toole my life has also ‘spanned and mirrored’ the time of massive transformation covered in this great work。 While harrowing to be reminded of our recent past， it’s an excellent exploration of the ‘young adult’ that Ireland is becoming
Natasha
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In-depth， long and very thorough！ A serious work， capturing Ireland's history， since his birth in 1958， with intricate detail covering a decade roughly at a time。 Given my lack of knowledge of Ireland prior to reading this， some of it went over my head or was lost but overall a good use of personal stories as a way into a fascinating history， the politics in Ireland and in America as well as culture wars on abortion etc was riveting。 Be prepared to get stuck in but I'm glad I've read it。 I want In-depth， long and very thorough！ A serious work， capturing Ireland's history， since his birth in 1958， with intricate detail covering a decade roughly at a time。 Given my lack of knowledge of Ireland prior to reading this， some of it went over my head or was lost but overall a good use of personal stories as a way into a fascinating history， the politics in Ireland and in America as well as culture wars on abortion etc was riveting。 Be prepared to get stuck in but I'm glad I've read it。 I want to devour all things Ireland now！ 。。。more
Linus
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Excellent book on the many changes Ireland went through from 1958 and onwards。 Recommended to anyone interested in modern Irish history。
Mike Bessant
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First rate exploration of Ireland's modern history and what it means to be Irish。 For someone who was born in 1958 and brought up in Ireland under the Catholic education system， much of this book resonated with my own experience。 Fintan O'Toole writes with wisdom， humour and honesty， casting a forensic eye over Ireland's social， political and religious spheres and it's relationship with the outside world。 Essential reading。 First rate exploration of Ireland's modern history and what it means to be Irish。 For someone who was born in 1958 and brought up in Ireland under the Catholic education system， much of this book resonated with my own experience。 Fintan O'Toole writes with wisdom， humour and honesty， casting a forensic eye over Ireland's social， political and religious spheres and it's relationship with the outside world。 Essential reading。 。。。more
Robert Craven
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This memoir reminded me very much of the Polish journalist / writer Ryszard Kapuscinski's 'Imperium'。 O'Toole casts an eye back on Ireland's history through his own lifespan and career。 Born in 1958 in Crumlin two events happened that year; the then Taoiseach （Prime Minister） travelled to Europe to explore joining the nascent EEC， and the IRA raided a barracks in England， stealing weapons。This twin track weaves through the upheavals of the 1960's， 70's and 80's on both sides of the border right This memoir reminded me very much of the Polish journalist / writer Ryszard Kapuscinski's 'Imperium'。 O'Toole casts an eye back on Ireland's history through his own lifespan and career。 Born in 1958 in Crumlin two events happened that year; the then Taoiseach （Prime Minister） travelled to Europe to explore joining the nascent EEC， and the IRA raided a barracks in England， stealing weapons。This twin track weaves through the upheavals of the 1960's， 70's and 80's on both sides of the border right up to the beginning of the Celtic Tiger。 （And its disastrous aftermath。）The book is very well written， but， AND it is a BUT。 It plays safe on its sacred cows it chooses to examine; the usual suspects of cute hoors and chancers than ran the country can be found in any current Irish political memoir。 He had an opportunity here to look at the role of the The GAA， but glances over it。 And as a musician in Dublin in the 1980's and 1990's the behemoth of the band U2 gets a single sentence。 Like the Catholic church， and the political cults of personalities， the band stifled and sidelined generations of pretenders to the crown with equal ruthlessness。It may interest some， but at times reads like your dad reading articles out loud from the newspaper and expecting you to remain enthralled。A good read， but not anything like assured insights of Orwell， Kapuscinski or Fisk。 。。。more
Simon Dobson
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A personal but wide-ranging exploration of Ireland in the last sixty years， by someone who's reported on a lot of it。 That makes for an insightful reading of political events in particular， the rise in national self-confidence and fall in religious influence across Irish society。It's probably largely incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't spent a lot of time in Ireland， though: many things remain under-explained， as perhaps they have to given the sweep of the narrative。 The deep-seated feelings o A personal but wide-ranging exploration of Ireland in the last sixty years， by someone who's reported on a lot of it。 That makes for an insightful reading of political events in particular， the rise in national self-confidence and fall in religious influence across Irish society。It's probably largely incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't spent a lot of time in Ireland， though: many things remain under-explained， as perhaps they have to given the sweep of the narrative。 The deep-seated feelings of guilt that underpin many social relationships go unmentioned， for example。 And the description of the boom-and-bust of the 2000s won;t be clear to anyone who doesn't already know the story。But O'Toole does manage to dive deeply into something that many outsiders find perplexing: the "dual consciousness" in Irish life whereby something can be known about but not acted upon， or rather where daily life goes on without any reference to things that "everyone knows"。 （I lived in Ireland off and on for over twenty years， and this still baffles me。） How was Charles Haughey treated as a man of the people when he lived quite clearly beyond his means？ Why did no-one investigate？ – well， because there was nothing to expose， because "everyone knew"， and so no demand to read about it。 But with those provisos， this is an excellent history of a period of tumultuous change for Ireland， during which it emerged into the modern world， peacefully and culturally intact。 。。。more
Roxanne
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I hardly knew anything about Ireland before I read this book。 The author talks about Ireland from 1958 onward。 It is a memoir and history at the same time。
Daniel
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Excellent writing and analysis of O'Tooles life as always from him。 Excellent writing and analysis of O'Tooles life as always from him。 。。。more
Micheal
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Outstanding review of Ireland during authors lifetime， since 1958。 Highly recommended。
Sean O'Donoghue
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To all my Irish friends， especially those who were reared in 60s and 70s Ireland， I highly recommend this book …。book of essays tearing apart the gombeen men and their nazi guru， Archbishop McQuaid， back then。 O'Toole has been doing journalism since the 1980s， as well as the odd book， and has a very astute eye for the world he inhabits。 He also contextualises much of the world I grew up and was educated in and lots of his putting his finger on a pulse that was not altogether visible to me。 The t To all my Irish friends， especially those who were reared in 60s and 70s Ireland， I highly recommend this book …。book of essays tearing apart the gombeen men and their nazi guru， Archbishop McQuaid， back then。 O'Toole has been doing journalism since the 1980s， as well as the odd book， and has a very astute eye for the world he inhabits。 He also contextualises much of the world I grew up and was educated in and lots of his putting his finger on a pulse that was not altogether visible to me。 The theme of “everyone knows， no one says” runs through the book。 Paedophilia amongst the clergy was known to many in high places， Charlie Haughty enriching himself was common knowledge， Haughty's glorification of church and family whilst keeping a mistress was common knowledge…。but no one talked publicly…。they were all “sensitive issues” and best left undisturbed。 One of the most disturbing issues of which he writes was mothers apologising to priests because of their， the mothers'， complaints they made to the bishop about the very priests they were apologising to having sexually abused their children。 Excellent read。。。。500 pages but broken into shortish essays。 Fortunately， the church has now lost their power in Ireland， but the political corruption has carried on。 。。。more
Annarella
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