80s Ireland reading

monkeysockss

Hi there,

Not sure if this is the place to post but I'm trying to find some reading about 80s Ireland. I'm mainly interested in the social climate of the time, recession, church influence, generally shhitness.

Can anyone recommend sth?

Cheers

later12

Reeling in the years?

Whenever anyone mentions RITY, I always recall that clip with the young emigrants boarding buses to London or further afield to the backdrop of Mary Black singing 'As I Leave Behind Neidín'. From 2:10 onwards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YO7Qxvvia4&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YO7Qxvvia4

Probably worth at least mentioning that although things are quite bad right now, at least we are starting from a better structural position than we were in 1980, and things aren't necessarily going to be as bad again, although I realise that it is entirely popular to insist otherwise.

The 1980s should be the Irish inspiration for turning the boat around and aiming for success, not some grim aspiration or despondent expectation of something that we think must be inevitable.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

McDave

First off, Frank McDonald's absolute masterpiece, 'The Destruction of Dublin' (Gill & Macmillan, 1985)! Chock full of the mechanics of political and business corruption. Quite a few photos illustrating the architectural brutalism of the time.

Then Joe Joyce and Peter Murtagh's 'The Boss" (Poolbeg Press, 1983) - how Ahern made it within a country mile of power is a mystery to anyone who learnt anything from this classic account of Haughey's rise to power.

For a fictional taste, try Dermot Bolger's 'The Journey Home' (Penguin, 1990). Bleak and real, and published well before the first sniff of the C****c T***r.

n900guy

later10 wrote: »

The 1980s should be the Irish inspiration for turning the boat around and aiming for success, not some grim aspiration or despondent expectation of something that we think must be inevitable.

True, but when you look at your entire contributions to the state during your working life of 30+ years being consumed entirely by debt slavery to pay off billions borrowed a small group of individuals, it's hard to be enthusiastic that you are paying for improved policing, education, healthcare, etc., .

hinault

Gene Kerrigans book "Great Little Nation" ISBN number ISBN 0717129373 is an excellent read about the financial/political scandals of many eras, including the 1980's (Haughey especially).

later12

n900guy wrote: »

True, but when you look at your entire contributions to the state during your working life of 30+ years being consumed entirely by debt slavery to pay off billions borrowed a small group of individuals, it's hard to be enthusiastic

It was ever so. When was the last time that debt did not consume our tax, and was that debt not always owed to small groups of individuals? i would counter that the EFSF, the EU and the IMF are far more benevolent creditor institutions than Credit Suisse or Chinese and US investment banks

monkeysockss

Thanks lads, that's really useful. Have one one more question. I'm actually attempting to write a book, and if I could SPEAK to someone that would be better again.

Does anyone know of anyone, for example one of the authors mentioned, who may agree to meet me face to face? Some people are very reluctant to do things like that while others will do anything to help. Someone you could call an authority. I've mailed a whole bunch of people but just wondering is there someone I'm forgetting, or someone who is known for being helpful to people like me.

If anyone has any ideas, be much appreciated again.

Cheers

hinault

monkeysockss wrote: »

Thanks lads, that's really useful. Have one one more question. I'm actually attempting to write a book, and if I could SPEAK to someone that would be better again.

Does anyone know of anyone, for example one of the authors mentioned, who may agree to meet me face to face? Some people are very reluctant to do things like that while others will do anything to help. Someone you could call an authority. I've mailed a whole bunch of people but just wondering is there someone I'm forgetting, or someone who is known for being helpful to people like me.

If anyone has any ideas, be much appreciated again.

Cheers

You could write to Gene Kerrigan at the Sindo.
(he writes a weekly column for them).

RichardAnd

monkeysockss wrote: »

Thanks lads, that's really useful. Have one one more question. I'm actually attempting to write a book, and if I could SPEAK to someone that would be better again.

Does anyone know of anyone, for example one of the authors mentioned, who may agree to meet me face to face? Some people are very reluctant to do things like that while others will do anything to help. Someone you could call an authority. I've mailed a whole bunch of people but just wondering is there someone I'm forgetting, or someone who is known for being helpful to people like me.

If anyone has any ideas, be much appreciated again.

Cheers

Well speaking as somone who is also writing a book (fiction, nothing releated to this) I can tell you that often authors will respond to emails and such if it doesn't take too much time. If the writer in question has a website, check it out. Often, then will have a "contact me" section where you can drop them a line or two.

Sand

Banana Republic by Anthony Sweeney is a good read. Its focused on the current crisis, but it does a good summary of Irish economic/social history from the foundation of the state: essentially a poor political system leading to failure of governance and leadership leading to economic failure, worse the *expectation* and *acceptance* of economic failure and emigration. The failure of Irish government for generations is expressed by people voting with their feet: more than one million people leaving Ireland between 1921 and 1959. 400,000 leaving in the 1950s alone. The Irish population falling to 2.8 million by 1961 (despite an agrarian, Catholic birth rate population fell from 1921 onwards) as the Irish people sought to flee horrifically bad government and its outcomes.

The Irish diaspora do not reflect Irish strength or wanderlust: its evidence of how horrifically bad Ireland has been governed for generations that so many people have fled abroad to succeed in well governed countries.

The counterpoint is usually that Ireland is a small, peripheral nation (remember, expectation and acceptance of economic failure and emigration) to which Sweeney presents the example of New Zealand: In 1847, New Zealand had a population of 9,000 European settlers. By 1921 it had a population of 1 million. By 1959 it had a population of 3 million (I.E. while Irelands population shrank, New Zealands tripled). It now has a population of 4.3 million. There doesnt seem to be the same expectation or acceptance of emigration in that agrarian island nation.