
'Was It For This?: Why Ireland Lost the Plot' Share:
Publisher: | Transworld Publishers Ltd |
Published: | January 2089 |
Pages: | 296 |
Categories: | Society |
Available as: | Paperback |
'Ireland stands at a defining moment, unprecedented in the period of its Independence. This title explores Ireland's political, social and existential identity crisis, delving into the Irish psyche in search of fundamental explanations for recent events.<br>Ireland stands at a defining moment, unprecedented in the period of its Independence. A decade in which its dreams of prosperity and modernization appeared to have been realized has given way to the economic uncertainty and political upheaval of the last four years, with fiscal and financial sovereignty surrendered to the faceless technocrats known as 'the troika'. Four years from the centenary of the 1916 Rising, rage, bewilderment and despair continue to sweep through Irish society. In "Was It For This?" John Waters explores Ireland's political, social and existential identity crisis, delving into the Irish psyche in search of fundamental explanations for recent events. What happened to our hopes and dreams? What is at the heart of the sense of betrayal that we feel? In the rush to modernity, did we throw away everything of true value? Have we lost the language of nationhood and patriotism spoken by those who dreamt of the Irish Republic? Are we secretly longing for a national father figure to show us the way? Ranging across a vast canvas, "Was It For This?" argues that the Celtic Tiger was built on a collective delusion, and that the seeds of its destruction were sown many years before it even began, when we exchanged our colonial shackles for a no-less destructive dependency for short-term gain. Ireland's sovereignty was given up long before the IMF came to town.<br>"His honesty shines through in this work. Waters is extremely frank about how we borrowed and spent in a decade of craziness and does not spare himself. Students of political culture will have much to engage them." -- John Downing Irish Independent "His cultural range is highly impressive. In a country riddled with groupthink, Waters' writings pro