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A review by kevin_shepherd
A New Ireland: How Europe's Most Conservative Country Became Its Most Liberal by Niall O'Dowd
5.0
Although Niall O’Dowd provides a rather extensive and detailed history of the Catholic Church’s prominent role in Irish history, the “two Irelands” —the old, conservative-religious state and the new, secular-democracy—can arguably be represented by just two influential icons: John McQuaid and Mary Robinson, respectively.
If you want to see what was wrong with the Ireland of the mid-twentieth century, look no further than the former Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid. McQuaid was a tyrant who held unprecedented influence over the politics and policies of Ireland for more than three decades. An alleged pedophile himself, McQuaid was instrumental in the coverup of horrific sex crimes committed by Irish Catholic priests—including the atrocities carried out by the psychopathic Father Brendan Smyth. Smyth, a monster if ever there was one, was later convicted of sexually assaulting at least 143 children in Dublin, Belfast, and the United States.
“McQuaid, his intelligence fed by a network of informants, had a finger in every pie: demolishing the Mercier Society of lay Catholics (because they tried to initiate dialogue with Protestants and Jews); vetoing women's athletics; preventing Sean O'Faolain becoming director of the new Arts Council; stopping the American star Jayne Mansfield's visit to Tralee; banning Tampax, an O'Casey play and Donleavy's The Ginger Man. Finally…the Pill.” -Belfast Telegraph, 24 March, 2010
Mary Robinson is the “New Ireland” personified. Not only was she the first woman elected to the Irish presidency, she was the first person elected to that position without the support of the ultra conservative-Christian republican party, Fianna Fáil. Robinson championed the legalization of divorce, the legalization of contraception, and the decriminalization of homosexuality. To date, she is the most popular Irish president in history, garnering, at one point, an approval rating of 93%.
“Former president, Mary Robinson, is the most consequential Irish woman of the 20th century. Don’t take my word for it—a nationwide survey by RTÉ Television in 2010 named Mary Robinson as the only woman in the top five, and she placed third behind Nobel Prize winner John Hume and War of Independence hero Michael Collins.” -Irish Central, 10 March, 2023
O’Dowd writes with fervor and contagious passion. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to read this and not be zealously optimistic about the future of the Irish Republic. Five stars.
If you want to see what was wrong with the Ireland of the mid-twentieth century, look no further than the former Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid. McQuaid was a tyrant who held unprecedented influence over the politics and policies of Ireland for more than three decades. An alleged pedophile himself, McQuaid was instrumental in the coverup of horrific sex crimes committed by Irish Catholic priests—including the atrocities carried out by the psychopathic Father Brendan Smyth. Smyth, a monster if ever there was one, was later convicted of sexually assaulting at least 143 children in Dublin, Belfast, and the United States.
“McQuaid, his intelligence fed by a network of informants, had a finger in every pie: demolishing the Mercier Society of lay Catholics (because they tried to initiate dialogue with Protestants and Jews); vetoing women's athletics; preventing Sean O'Faolain becoming director of the new Arts Council; stopping the American star Jayne Mansfield's visit to Tralee; banning Tampax, an O'Casey play and Donleavy's The Ginger Man. Finally…the Pill.” -Belfast Telegraph, 24 March, 2010
Mary Robinson is the “New Ireland” personified. Not only was she the first woman elected to the Irish presidency, she was the first person elected to that position without the support of the ultra conservative-Christian republican party, Fianna Fáil. Robinson championed the legalization of divorce, the legalization of contraception, and the decriminalization of homosexuality. To date, she is the most popular Irish president in history, garnering, at one point, an approval rating of 93%.
“Former president, Mary Robinson, is the most consequential Irish woman of the 20th century. Don’t take my word for it—a nationwide survey by RTÉ Television in 2010 named Mary Robinson as the only woman in the top five, and she placed third behind Nobel Prize winner John Hume and War of Independence hero Michael Collins.” -Irish Central, 10 March, 2023
O’Dowd writes with fervor and contagious passion. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to read this and not be zealously optimistic about the future of the Irish Republic. Five stars.