Ireland is a strikingly different country now to the one it was in the mid-1990s. Dramatic economic and social changes, including the Celtic Tiger boom and increasingly secular debate about the status of women, abortion and marriage equality underlined the transformation. The new diversity of the population and literary musical prowess also revealed a country experiencing rapid alteration.
The end to war in Northern Ireland arising from the peace process illuminated the new Anglo-Irish dynamic. Explosive revelations about deep betrayals from the past destroyed the credibility of the traditionally powerful Catholic Church. After the 2008 financial crash, Ireland rebounded but remained plagued by health and housing failures. The end of civil war politics, ever closer European involvement and Anglo-Irish highs were followed by Brexit lows.
In this riveting account of contemporary Ireland, Diarmaid Ferriter makes historical sense of post-1990s Ireland, and what lies in the dark corners of its archives.