In the year Fintan O’Toole was born, 1958, Ireland began a decades-long, ongoing experiment with its national identity. Amid an exodus of Irish youth, the country opened its doors to foreign investment and popular culture; sneaking through with them came fundamental shifts to Ireland’s Catholic Church, its politics, its economy, and its myths of national greatness. In his book, equal parts memoir and national history, O’Toole weaves his own experiences into the social, cultural, and economic changes, showing how Ireland, in just one lifetime, has gone from a reactionary “backwater” to an almost totally open society—perhaps the most astonishing national transformation in modern history.
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