Just Finished Reading: Luck and the Irish – A Brief History of Change, 1970-2000 by R F Foster (FP: 2007) [189pp] 

Ireland changed a LOT in the last 3rd of the 20th century. From a reasonably poor and largely agrarian society they emerged as a Celtic tiger with high-tech industries flocking to their shores. They (largely) threw off the power of the Catholic church after numerous sexual scandals as well as the growing agitation for the right to divorce, contraception and abortion. Improvements in education and a massive increase in students going to university helped power the economic miracle and joining the European Union opened up markets for their increasingly sophisticated products. After years of political strife (and political corruption) things began to calm down in Eire itself and in relations to the counties in Northern Ireland. Alongside the flowering of economic and political possibilities came the explosion of Irish culture as a global phenomenon from Riverdance to U2 as well as breakthrough novelists and poets. From a European backwater, Ireland had in a very short time become a world player in a host of areas. 

It became obvious very quickly that my knowledge of modern Irish history was scanty to say the least. Many of the names mentioned of politicians and industry leaders were completely unknown to me or rang very faint bells at best. Funnily, the section on political corruption around the granting of building permits which brought down the government in the 70’s did ring a bell – but from my reading of an Ireland based crime novel! With such a low level of knowledge to comfort me I honestly struggled with this (at least to begin with) and, overall, it took me at least a day longer than anticipated to read it. Although I shouldn’t have been (really), I was quite surprised by the power of the Catholic church before they fell from grace. I had little idea that they had the power of veto in much in the political realm as well as de facto rights to sensor TV, radio and newspapers almost as they saw fit. Only after the scandals did this power diminish and then, largely, vanish.  

It was interesting to read about the ‘Troubles’ in the North but from the other side. I’d read a little about the IRA in Northern Ireland (and, of course, watched a great deal of it as it unfolded on the nightly news) but I hadn’t really considered it from the South’s PoV. That chapter, as well as subsequent bits scattered throughout the book, definitely filled in that gap in my knowledge. The culture section was a bit of a strange on (to me at least) as I was aware of much of the great music coming out of Ireland in this period – being a BIG fan of U2 in the 80’s at university and beyond – but talk of authors and poets were often new to me. I’d heard of people like Edna O’Brien (and tried to read her books back in my youth) but not many of the other authors. The poets completely passed me by. 

Overall, despite the effort it took in parts, this was an interesting and informative read. It certainly filled a gap (or at very least illuminated a void) in my knowledge of our near neighbour and the home of a goodly percentage of my ancestors. Much more on the island of Ireland to come – both ancient and modern.