Home ⋅ Published Books ⋅ With a Little Help from My Friends: Planning Corruption in Ireland

With a Little Help from My Friends: Planning Corruption in Ireland
Share by Email Share on Messenger Share on Whatsapp Share on Whatsapp

By: Paul Cullen
Publisher: Gill
Published: April 2002
Pages: 236
Categories: Society
Language: English
Available as: Paperback
On sale at:
ISBN-13: 9780717134311
ASIN: 0717134318

The inside story of the Flood Tribunal, featuring Burke, Lawlor, Redmond, Gogarty and the lads. This is a book about greed. It is a blow-by-blow account of the rise of corruption in Irish politics and planning, focusing in particular on the unholy alliance forged between crooked politicians, planners and builders in the Greater Dublin area. Paul Cullen offers the first comprehensive account of planning corruption in Dublin. He draws together the various strands investigated by the Flood Tribunal in a coherent narrative, built upon the manoeuvres of a self-serving and secret network of selfish, greedy men. He traces the repeated attempts to expose the irregularities that many suspected and none could prove. He reminds us of the crippling effect of planning corruption on the lives of ordinary citizens. He recalls the early days of Flood, when it appeared to be going nowhere. Then Frank Dunlop began to sing. And Dunlop's song led on to greater things: to George Redmond being nabbed at Dublin Airport coming back from the Isle of Man with IR Punt300,000 in his bag; to Liam Lawlor going to jail; to the exposure of Ray Burke's interesting accounting and banking practices; to the lowdown - at last - on the builders Brennan and McGowan. There is also the grand guignol of James Gogarty. Sometimes angry, sometimes unwittingly hilarious, always gripping, this is a terrific read. Other books by Paul Cullen Insider's Guide to Dublin Wicklow and the Boyne. Preface; Introduction; 1. With a Little Help from My Friends; 2. Grumpy Old Men; 3. The Life and Times of JR; 4. Corruption Denied; 5. The Great Unravelling; 6. The Art of Hiding in Full View; 7. Radio Fianna Fail; 8. 'A Failure of Recollection'; 9. Some Kind of Homecoming; 10. Enter Frank Dunlop; 11. What Now? Paul Cullen is a journalist with The Irish Times. He has covered the Flood Tribunal from the beginning.

Other Books From this Category

View More From This Category

Other Books From this Author

  • 5 Feb 2026 - Hachette Books Ireland

    Outsider: A Story of Belonging

    By Paul Cullen

    FROM THE EDGE OF DEATH TO THE HEART OF A HIDDEN PAST. Adopted at age three, Paul Cullen always felt like an outsider. After a near-fatal fall from Germany's highest peak in 2017 left him broken - ph...

  • 1 Jan 2000 - Cork University Press

    Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Ireland

    By Paul Cullen

    The explosion over the past few years of the number of people seeking asylum in Ireland as a result of the booming "Celtic Tiger" economy has focused attention for the first time on a wide range of de...

View More From This Author

About Us

Irish Interest in based on one very simple idea: to bring the contents of any Irish bookshop to people everywhere, especially those outside Ireland who do not have the possibility of keeping abreast of new books published in Ireland. The Irish Interest web platform is purely a provider of information about new publications. The aim of the site is to have every publishing house in Ireland adding their latest titles as they become available. Hyperlinks to each title bring users of the site directly to the publisher's web area or to a sales site where books can be purchased.

Privacy Policy

Irishinterest.ie and its owners strive at all times to preserver the privacy of all personal information stored on its website and servers. Information deemed to be private and confidential will not be communicated to any parties or divulged in any way. Cookies and similar technologies Irishinterest.ie and its owners are not responsible for external data collection entities. Third party sites with access to Irishinterest.ie may be able to acquire or assimilate data. Cookies and similar technologies can be utilized by third parties accessing our site without our knowledge.

Terms & Conditions

Irishinterest.ie, Irishinterest.com, and its owners take no responsibility for information issued on its site that is posted by third parties. It is the sole responsibility of the third parties who utilize the site for publication of any information to ensure that such information is correct and does not infringe laws and the rights of others who may be affected by publication of such information. Disputed material will be removed pending clarification.