The Reluctant Taoiseach

The Reluctant Taoiseach
Author: David McCullagh
Publisher: Gill & Macmillan
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2011-10-14
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780717150601

John A. Costello remains the most elusive of our former Taoisigh, despite his enormous contribution to Irish history. He declared the Republic, led the country's first ever coalition government, and faced the Mother and Child Crisis. A surprise choice who battled against taking the job, Costello was the Reluctant Taoiseach. Historian and political correspondent David McCullagh charts the life of this fascinating man, using his personal archive of papers, as well as interviews with former colleagues, family and friends. McCullagh offers new insights into a political career which stretched from Independence to the end of the 1960s, including the Commonwealth Conferences of the 1920s, to the new Constitution of 1937, and Governments in the 1940s and 1950s. Politician, barrister, Attorney General, politician, family man--The Reluctant Taoiseach takes a fresh and revealing look at the life of a man at the centre of politics and law during one of the most turbulent periods in Irish history. "This is the best historical biography in recent years" Maurice Manning, Irish Mail on Sunday "In David McCullagh, John Costello has found the best biographer he could possibly have hoped for" Andrew Lynch, Sunday Business Post Agenda "A biography that is not just hugely authoritative but also highly readable" Shane Coleman, The Sunday Tribune

John A. Costello The Reluctant Taoiseach

John A. Costello The Reluctant Taoiseach
Author: David McCullagh
Publisher: Gill & Macmillan Ltd
Total Pages: 839
Release: 2010-10-08
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0717151638

John A. Costello remains the most elusive of our former Taoisigh, despite his enormous contribution to Irish history. He declared the Republic, led the country's first ever coalition government, and faced the Mother and Child Crisis. A surprise choice who battled against taking the job, Costello was the Reluctant Taoiseach. Historian and political correspondent David McCullagh charts the life of this fascinating man, using his personal archive of papers, as well as interviews with former colleagues, family and friends. McCullagh offers new insights into a political career which stretched from Independence to the end of the 1960s, including the Commonwealth Conferences of the 1920s, to the new Constitution of 1937, and Governments in the 1940s and 1950s. Politician, barrister, Attorney General, politician, family man – The Reluctant Taoiseach takes a fresh and revealing look at the life of a man at the centre of politics and law during one of the most turbulent periods in Irish history

The Great Irish Politics Book

The Great Irish Politics Book
Author: David McCullagh
Publisher: Gill Books
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2021-10-22
Genre:
ISBN: 9780717190287

The latest book in the Gill Books series of important topics tackled by experts, this engaging guide demystifies political systems, elections, voting, and government, and explores issues including human rights, freedom of speech, and fake news.

For Ava

For Ava
Author: Vera Twomey
Publisher: Mercier Press Ltd
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2019-08-09
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1781176841

What would you do to save your child? When Vera Twomey's daughter Ava was diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that causes multiple seizures a day, the family's life was thrown into chaos. Where they hoped to find treatment and support in the medical system, they found only frustration. The only medication that would have any effect on Ava's condition is a form of medicinal cannabis that was unavailable in Ireland. Thus began the family's fight to alleviate their daughter's suffering and give her a chance at life. Faced with an intransigent system and political establishment, Vera's campaign eventually culminated in her decision to walk from Cork to Leinster House in Dublin in protest to ask health minister Simon Harris for help in person. For Ava tells the story of the campaign for Ava's medication and the family's move to the Netherlands in order to legally access the medication that would save her life. It also pays tribute to the people who helped Vera achieve her goal. Above all, this is a moving story about the lengths a parent will go to for their child's health and happiness.

De Valera Rise, 1882 1932

De Valera Rise, 1882 1932
Author: David McCullagh
Publisher:
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2017
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780717155866

From the host of RTÉ's Primetime and author of The Reluctant Taoiseach, the widely acclaimed biography of John A. Costello, Rise 1882-1932 is the first volume of a major two-part reassessment of the man who shaped modern Ireland. Eamon de Valera is the most single most consequential Irish figure of the twentieth century. He was a leader of the Easter Rising, the figurehead of the anti-treaty rebels during the dark days of the Civil War and later, as the founder of Fianna Fáil and President of Ireland, the pivotal figure in the birth of the Republic. While de Valera the statesman, the rebel, the visionary, has passed over into a sort of myth, de Valera the man remains an elusive, almost opaque presence. Precious little is known of his background, his motivations - the roots, in short, of his ferocious devotion to a very particular brand of Irish nationalism. Here, in the first part of a major two-volume reassessment, historian and broadcaster David McCullagh considers the man behind the colossal achievements. McCullagh sketches a ground-breaking portrait of de Valera, his times and his complex, ever-shifting legacy. The concluding volume of this work, Rule 1932-1975, will be published in autumn 2018. 'De Valera can elicit hostility or, worse, gullibility in historians. McCullagh avoids these faults: dispassionate, comprehensive and the best exploitation yet of the voluminous de Valera archive.' John Bowman, historian and broadcaster. 'Combines the investigative skills of an experienced journalist with the detachment of an accomplished historian. This vividly readable and at times gripping biography tackles head-on all of the perennial de Valera controversies, including his parentage, his role in the 1916 Rising, his relationship with Michael Collins, his responsibility for the Civil War and his subsequent rise to power, and does so with acuity and objectivity. A comprehensive, mature biography, both enlightening and entertaining.' Maurice Manning

De Valera Volume 1

De Valera Volume 1
Author: David McCullagh
Publisher: Gill & Macmillan Ltd
Total Pages: 756
Release: 2017-10-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0717155846

Éamon de Valera was the single most consequential Irish figure of the twentieth century. He was a leader in the Easter Rising, the figurehead of the anti-Treaty rebels during the dark days of the Civil War and, later, as the founder of Fianna Fáil and president of Ireland, the pivotal figure in the birth of the Republic. In this, the first volume of a magisterial new biography, acclaimed historian and broadcaster David McCullagh charts De Valera's vertiginous rise from humble beginnings to electoral victory with Fianna Fáil in 1932. Riveting, nuanced, provocative and humorous, it draws on a wealth of new and neglected sources to present a truly ground-breaking portrait of de Valera the man, his times and his complex, ever-shifting legacy. 'David McCullagh combines the investigative skills of an experienced journalist with the detachment of an accomplished historian. In this vividly readable and at times gripping biography he tackles head-on all of the perennial de Valera controversies, including his parentage, his role in the 1916 Rising, his relationship with Michael Collins, his responsibility for the Civil War and his subsequent rise to power, and does so with acuity and objectivity. McCullagh's range and command of the source material is masterly ... a comprehensive, mature biography, both enlightening and entertaining.' MAURICE MANNING

Tom Gilmartin

Tom Gilmartin
Author: Frank Connolly
Publisher: Gill & Macmillan Ltd
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2014-03-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0717160459

A successful property developer in England, the Sligo-born Tom Gilmartin had ambitious plans for major retail developments in Dublin in the late 1980s. Little did he know that in order to do business in the city, senior politicians and public officials would want a slice of the action ... in the form of large amounts of cash. Gilmartin blew the whistle on corruption at the heart of government and the city's planning system, and the fallout from his claims ultimately led to the resignation of the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2008. Written by Ireland's leading investigative journalists, Tom Gilmartin is a compelling narrative of official wrong-doing and abuse of office; it lifts the lid on the corruption and financial mismanagement that blighted Irish society in latter decades of the twentieth century. The product of two decades' research, it's a must-read for anyone seeking to uncover the roots of Ireland's financial catastrophe.

Ireland's Violent Frontier

Ireland's Violent Frontier
Author: H. Patterson
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2013-03-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1137314028

The IRA's ability to exploit the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland was central to the organisation's capacity to wage its 'Long War' over a quarter of a century. This book is the first to look at the role of the border in sustaining the Provisionals and its central role in Anglo-Irish relations throughout the Troubles.

A Makeshift Majority

A Makeshift Majority
Author: David McCullagh
Publisher:
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1998
Genre: Coalition governments
ISBN: