Ireland: The Autobiography: One Hundred Years of Irish Life, Told by Its People

by John Bowman (Editor)

Over the past 100 years, Ireland has undergone profound political, social, and cultural changes. But one thing that has not changed is the Irish genius for observation and storytelling, invective and self-scrutiny. The Autobiography draws upon this genius to create a portrait of a century of Irish life through the words of the people who lived it. John Bowman has mined archives, diaries, and memoirs to create a varied and readable mosaic of voices and perspectives. It is a wide-ranging and engrossing take on the last century of Irish life. It gives us a portrait of Ireland unlike anything we've read before.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Ireland, Irish Literature

496 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2016

Reviews

[Carol Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was deeply impressed by this anthology of Irish writing from 1916 to 2016. For the past few years, I have been trying to learn about Irish history, and this is one of the clearest, most vivid books I've encountered. The selections range from the views of IRA leaders to those of Unionist workers and feminist journalists, with a few humorous and human interest pieces included.

The book demystifies the Easter Rising of 1916 and, even more, the conflict between Irish Catholics in the South over the 1921-22 treaty with Britain that Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith negotiated, which divided Ireland into the North and the South. I hadn't realized what a bloody war went on between those who said the treaty was all the Irish could get at the time and those who believed it betrayed the people and the Rising of 1916. I had thought the violence was almost all between Catholics and Protestants, not between Catholics.

I also hadn't realized quite how religious the Irish Republicans were. Of course I knew they were firmly Catholic, but I was amazed that they sent an emissary in advance of the 1916 Rising to ask the pope to support it. The pope declined, and urged them to find a less violent way of resolving their grievances, but they went ahead.

A number of articles criticize the outsize influence that the Catholic Church had in the Irish Republic -- and that the Presbyterian Church and Church of Ireland had in Northern Ireland. There are also articles by priests telling about the horrors of trying to give comfort to people who had just been shot, and of priests and other defenders of the Church railing against sin, specifically sexual "sin." And articles by people who skewer the emphasis on sexual "sins" to the exclusion of any others. Of course the battle over contraception is represented in several articles.

There are some articles about Ireland's economy and about nuns, from the sweet ones to the horrors of the Magdalene laundries where girls who had no place to go and young women who bore children outside of wedlock were treated terribly.

There is a great deal of serious material in the book, but the pieces are all short and the presentation is varied and engaging. I've almost never encountered an anthology that I enjoyed reading cover to cover -- indeed, almost none that I've actually read cover to cover -- but this one is the exception. I learned, and enjoyed learning.

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a marvelous primer for anyone interested in modern Irish history. The selections are brief but quite catholic (lower case, please note) in scope, offering the reader a view of the last 100 years on the Emerald Isle that is at once sweeping and granular, and that is no small feat. Many of the selections are excellent examples of prose style, and the multiplicity of voices and periods provide a rich cultural stew that does great justice to the complexity of the Irish identity. My only complaint is that there is very little included regarding the Travelers community, and far too little about the impact of the Catholic (upper case, please note) clergy sex scandals and the impact thereof on Irish social life. Any attempt to edit a book of this sort though is bound to have omissions if the book is not to swell to mammoth size, and the fact that Bowman was able to accomplish as much as he does in less than 500 pages renders these complaints of minor importance relative to the overall virtues of this volume.

[Bernard Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm close to midway on this and find it excellent at so many levels. Firstly all pieces run between 1 and 5 pages so they're easy to read. Each gives a personal viewpoint on a little sliver of Ireland at at a specific time and there's so much detail you'd never get from a history book.

And some is so Irish. As in The Battle over the Short Skirt. "Limerick may be a dank corpse among cities...but it was able to start the Modest Dress and Deportment Crusade, the main plan of which is that the skirt must measure four inches below the knee when the wearer is kneeling."

I can see the faithful with their wooden rulers in church to make sure the rules are observed. Excellent stuff and great selecting by John Bowman.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10. This is a great book if the reader has a significant understanding of contemporary Irish history. This isn’t a historical text, it is an anthology made up of a large and varied collection of letters, speeches, articles, and various other writings corresponding to important historical events in Irish history. I found the writings by Irish women protesting the laws against contraception to be very interesting. As well, the account of President Kennedy’s visit and speech in 1963 was also a highlight. However, there were many parts where I had little historical context or knowledge and not much is given as a precursor so have Wikipedia ready if you plan to read this. Definitely would recommend this book to my Irish friends though!

[Isabelle Heuzé · Rating 5 out of 5]

I FLEW through this book, cursing work for getting in the way of me reading.

It’s a collection of accounts that goes from 1916-2016 of historical events in Ireland so you get a postal worker’s recount of Easter 1916 or a letter from a Black and Tan to his mother or a review of a play in the abbey. I really really enjoyed getting to read about Irish history through the experience of such a wide range of people.

My only slight critique is that it doesn’t have a lot of context so I can imagine it not being as good if you don’t know much Irish history.

Would highly highly recommend to anyone with an interest in Irish history !!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started to read this as part of a class and then completed it to get ready for a trip to Ireland. It's a very clever way to present Irish history, through snippets of actual moments of the last century, mostly written from the time they're discussing. I learned a lot and enjoyed the read.

[Nicholas Sokić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty wonderful that something like this exists. The selection of first-hand accounts here manages to fit in the mundane, the dramatic and the profound into its recounting of the last century of Irish history. Would earnestly love to see similar sorts of collections for different countries.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I would give this book a 2.5 stars. Some of the earlier pieces in the book were interesting from the perspective of stories from the time of the Easter Rising and the years shortly there after.

[Micheal · Rating 5 out of 5]

really interesting selection. Great book

[Emmawho97 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for history exam at uni. You can say what you will about My book hoarding, but it sure is nice to have a library at home when doing an exam 🥳

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Michael Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of articles illustrating how Ireland has changed in 100 years.