Product Description

From about 1970, Irish history moved into a fast-forward phase. Roy Foster's new book looks at the roots of the changes that came with an almost completely unexpected wave of prosperity. With sympathy, astringency and humour, he examines the upheavals in economics, North-South attitudes, international relations, demography, gender roles, sexual mores, culture and religion which accompanied the boom, as well as the significance of such emblematic characters as Mary Robinson, Bob Geldof and Charles Haughey.

Luck and the Irish also looks at corruption, scandal, New Age Celticism, popular culture and the occasional retreat into reactionary attitudes that followed the liberalization, enrichment and marketing of the New Ireland: and what these transformations mean for Irish history in the long run. It is a combative and compelling re-casting of modern Ireland by one of its leading historians.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #117889 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday
`Foster is a formidably funny and incisive writer ... a joy'

Terry Eagleton, Guardian
'[Foster is] the great demythologizer of Ireland'

Paul Bew, The Spectator
'With this book, Foster reaffirms his status as the outstanding chronicler of modern Irishness'

Customer Reviews

Doesn't pretend to be anything it's not
This book deserves more than the two-and-a-half stars it has been given. The criticisms posited by the two previous reviewers - that it presupposes the reader's prior knowledge of the 'myths and players' of the Celtic Tiger, and that Foster concentrates on certain 'aspects' of Irish life - may be warranted. However, Foster has always zoned in on several interests (literature, theatre, sexual mores, political scandal), and anyone familiar with his earlier volume, Modern Ireland 1600-1972, will know what to expect. This is a necessary move - it would be unwise and unfair to expect a comprehensive account of thirty years of Irish life in 228 pages.

Foster's Preface is not included in the Amazon preview, but it clearly states that those in search of 'first-rate general treatment[s] of the period' should look to books by Terence Brown, Henry Patterson and/or Diarmaid Ferriter (I recommend the latter). For those who, like me, find Foster's approach entertaining and insightful, this is a perfect supplement to the straightforward 'history books' - which this is not, and does not pretend to be.

IRISH HISTORY WITHOUT THE IRISH
Roy Foster made his reputation with 'Modern Ireland 1600-1972'; this book brings the history of Ireland up to the end of the millenium.
The title is misleading because, judged by this book, Roy Foster has little interest in the Irish.
Aspects of Irish life - politics, literature and the role of religion - fascinate him, but not the ordinary people.
As well as this, he has an agenda which is scarcely hidden. This is of a country throwing off its primitive past. Those who disagree get short shrift. Critics are accused of 'demonizing' Dublin 4 and the Irish Press is 'rabidly' nationalistic.
These two traits, together, result in distortion. The explosion of drug abuse and resultant crime go almost unmentioned. They do not fit into a narrative of a country marching towards enlightenment.
The distortion even enters Roy Foster's chapter on literature. Here the pretentious John Banville is treated with the utmost seriousness but writers like Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes are ignored. Reading only Roy Foster, you would think that Sebastian Barry was a more significant figure than Brian Friel.
(People wanting to know what it was like to life in Ireland in these years will learn more from Maeve Binchy's novels.)
Historians with an agenda find that they, like politicians, are judged by history.
Roy Foster may be correct in his harsh judgement of Charles Haughey - the villian of this book - he may soon (as fashions change) find himself judged similarly harshly.

An insider's guide to the Celtic Tiger
This is a very well written account of the "Celtic Tiger" change brought about in Ireland, in the last twenty years that has totally transformed Ireland. He has also carefully demolished the many accepted myths about this subject and created a more balanced viewpoint. It could bring any outsider well up to speed with all the issues that this change has brought about, both good and bad.
Its main failing is that it is written on the assumption that the reader already knows these myths and all the players involved. It is an insider's book, about Ireland written for a subconsciously Irish audience. In a second edition, it might be a good idea to provide a thumbnail sketch of all the politicians and other people mentioned and the part that they played in the story. A revision of the text to help a non-Irish audience would help. In summary, this is an excellent introduction to the recent and total transformation of Ireland, but let down by an insider's mindset.