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It was a year like no other. Not for any one monumental event, but for an astonishing sequence of occurrences - triumphs and tragedies, joys and sorrows - that spanned all twelve months. Ireland 1963 deftly records the unrelenting roller coaster ride of dramas, traumas and mysteries of that year: a biblical-like flash flood, tenement collapses and victims, the liberating Bingo Craze, and a frightening 'mystery caller' posing as a priest.
And, of course, it was the year of President Kennedy's rapturous four-day visit to Ireland. The year reached its climax with fear for thirty Irish passengers aboard the liner Lakonia, "ablaze and sinking" at sea during Christmas week. Yet, a series of happy and frolicsome events throughout the year balanced people's emotions and brought great joy to their lives.
Such a bewildering and fascinating year demands a grass-roots type of social history, one that is biographical in nature. Kevin C. Kearns humanises these events by relying on oral history from participants and observers who were on the scene over fifty years ago.
Their words and emotions bring a riveting authenticity and immediacy to this wondrous biography of the extraordinary year of 1963. Praise for Kevin Kearns' other unique oral histories of DublinThe Legendary "Lugs" Branigan: Ireland's Most Famed Garda'A revealing portrait not just of a passionate and dedicated public figure, but also of a society undergoing great and constant change.' The Irish IndependentIreland's Arctic Siege: The Big Freeze of 1947 This story might have come from some Polar Expedition. It is almost unbelievable that such conditions could exist in Ireland.' The Irish TimesThe Bombing of Dublin's North Strand, 1941: The Untold Story 'What shines through is the courage and goodness of ordinary people, untrained for such catastrophe, in their attempts to save and help their fellow Dubliners.' The Irish TimesDublin Tenement Life: An Oral History 'Among the finest books ever written about Dublin.' The Sunday Tribune'This is truly an admirable book, capturing echoes of a vanished world.
ISBN/EAN | 9780717180783 |
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Author | Kevin C. Kearns |
Publisher | Gill Books |
Publication date | 14 Sep 2018 |
Format | Hardback |