We Don't Know Ourselves
A Personal History of Modern Ireland
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We Don't Know Ourselves
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Narrated by:
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Aidan Kelly
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Written by:
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Fintan O'Toole
About this listen
In We Don't Know Ourselves, Fintan O'Toole weaves his own experiences into Irish social, cultural, and economic change, 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.
Born to a working-class family in the Dublin suburbs, O'Toole served as an altar boy and attended a Christian Brothers school. He was enthralled by American Westerns suddenly appearing on Irish television, which were not that far from his own experience, given that Ireland's main export was beef and it was still not unknown for herds of cattle to clatter down Dublin's streets. Yet the Westerns were a sign of what was to come.
O'Toole narrates the once unthinkable collapse of the all-powerful Catholic Church, brought down by scandal and by the activism of ordinary Irish, women in particular. He relates the horrific violence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which led most Irish to reject violent nationalism. In O'Toole's telling, America became a lodestar, from John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit, when the American president was welcomed as a native son, to the emergence of the Irish technology sector in the late 1990s, driven by American corporations, which set Ireland on the path toward particular disaster during the 2008 financial crisis.
©2021 Fintan O'Toole (P)2022 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksWhat listeners say about We Don't Know Ourselves
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Louise Novis
- 2023-01-02
Truly excellent
This writer may be the finest journalist today. I followed his columns when I visited Dublin. I have always been fascinated by the turn to modernity in the Ireland of the last decade. This book puts all the history together in a cogent and beautifully written story
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Paul J. Lane
- 2023-01-25
If your parents never left Ireland…
This is more than a modern history of Ireland — it is a telling of the often hidden truth of the church and state of the Republic.
Quite disturbing in places it exposes the sheer duplicity of those in power and the rise of an educated class to throw off the bonds of ignorance. A fascinating read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- MATTHEW COOK
- 2023-08-10
Eye-opening
Eye-opening, well written, candid look at modern Ireland. A must read that helps everything make sense.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Declan Rowan
- 2022-05-24
Ireland - a love hate relationship
Fintan O’Toole has perfectly explained what for so long I have found hard to articulate. How on one hand I can be happy and proud to be Irish and on the other I am happy to have got the hell out of there. He explores the tensions that exist in Ireland and us Irish between the known and the unknowns, what is said and unsaid. He has juxtaposed the facade and desires of the elite over the years with what became the known reality - usually not flattering. It was very thought provoking book and overall very enjoyable.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Marcus Aurelius
- 2023-07-13
Thoughtful, Engaging and Well Written
A great listen for those interested in learning about recent Irish history and the country’s rocky journey toward modernity. Correlating the author’s anecdotal experiences with the bigger cultural changes is a nice device that is often metaphoric and even poetic. The reader’s accent, in tandem with the evocative Irish expressions and phrasing provide the atmosphere.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Bob Tyrrell
- 2022-05-14
Fascinating!
A beautifully written account of modern Irish history from a particularly personal perspective. Both educational and highly entertaining. Fintan O’Toole writes like a prince.
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