Nothing is Written in Stone: The Notebooks of Justin Keating

by Barbara Hussey (Editor), Anna Kealy (Editor)

Justin Keating (1930–2009), perhaps best known as a Labour Party politician, was also a senator, MEP, scientist, journalist, veterinarian, educator, award-winning television pioneer and broadcaster, a documentary filmmaker and farmer. A lifelong atheist, he became president of the Humanist Association of Ireland.

This absorbing book chronicles Keating’s personal and political odyssey, from earliest memories to old age. Genial, conversational and emphatic in tone, he was a candid raconteur, whether writing about Noël Browne, Sean McBride, Garret FitzGerald, Charles Haughey, Conor Cruise-O’Brien and their era, admitting ‘I have been in love four and a half times,’ or mapping his journey from the Marxism of his youth towards ardently felt, Green-leaning social democracy.

Edited posthumously by his wife, Barbara Hussey, Justin Keating’s notebooks are an in-depth, impassioned account of the interests and opinions of one of Ireland’s most wide-ranging intellectuals. His prescience encompassed the perils of nationalism, the future of the Left and of Europe, civil liberties, globalization, religion and sexuality, science, education, women’s health, ecology and respect for the natural world. Nothing Is Written in Stone forms a brilliant self-portrait of this multi-faceted radical, whose vision of Ireland and the world remains of enduring relevance.

280 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2017

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and light read through the life of an interesting man. He might well claim to be the first Green minister in Irish history - his commitment to core Green principles such as sustainability, free thought, pacificism and much more is evident throughout. The book also contains interesting observations on Northern Ireland, the conduct of the National Coalition 1973-7, on Noel Browne and Conor Cruise O Brien, and the role of religion in Ireand and globally (clue, from a former president of the Humanist society, it's not a positive disposition). Keating's definitely crotchety nature is evident, as is his ultimate self deprecating humility and lightness of touch.

[Ruaidhri · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in 20th Century Irish Politics, or European social democracy, or the environment, this memoir has it all. From an idyllic rural childhood with an anticlerical mother in a theocratic Ireland to the Left's disgust at the Stalinist invasion of Europe, Keating was at the heart of the Labour party before it self-imploded and presents a warm and personal view of Dáil and party reaction to major events.

Touching on the North of Ireland, the importance of urgent need to deal with the environment and the negative impact of religion on Ireland, this is worth a read for everyone invested in Irish politics.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is material of interest here, especially for those taken with Irish politics, but the tone is off-puttingly arrogant and self-serving. I prefer my authors less annoyingly sure that they have got it all figured out; Justin Keating is a real pontificator. One imagines that many of the people who knew him (and who are mentioned in the text) might have had some uncomplimentary things to say. “Justin? Good Lord, what a pain in the…”