We Don't Know Ourselves

A Personal History of Modern Ireland

By: Fintan O'Toole

Narrated by: Aidan Kelly

In We Don't Know Ourselves, Fintan O'Toole weaves his own experiences into Irish social, cultural, and economic change, showing how Ireland, in just one lifetime, has gone from a reactionary "backwater" to an almost totally open society - perhaps the most astonishing national transformation in modern history.

Born to a working-class family in the Dublin suburbs, O'Toole served as an altar boy and attended a Christian Brothers school. He was enthralled by American Westerns suddenly appearing on Irish television, which were not that far from his own experience, given that Ireland's main export was beef and it was still not unknown for herds of cattle to clatter down Dublin's streets. Yet the Westerns were a sign of what was to come.

O'Toole narrates the once unthinkable collapse of the all-powerful Catholic Church, brought down by scandal and by the activism of ordinary Irish, women in particular. He relates the horrific violence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which led most Irish to reject violent nationalism. In O'Toole's telling, America became a lodestar, from John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit, when the American president was welcomed as a native son, to the emergence of the Irish technology sector in the late 1990s, driven by American corporations, which set Ireland on the path toward particular disaster during the 2008 financial crisis.

©2021 Fintan O'Toole (P)2022 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Informative, negative, repetitive

Fascinating, well-researched social, religious, and political history of Ireland from the 1950s onward. BUT, as others have noted, unrelentingly negative until perhaps the last chapter, with the exception of the discussion of the 1998 Good Friday Accord.
And repetitive. It was a slog to get through the last 25-30%. I wanted to shout: Got it, we know how awful the Catholic Church was and how corrupt the political leaders were. Got it.

Wonderful

I was one of those who emigrated to the US in the 80s. I was in my 20s. This book is the story of my youth. Absolutely wonderful. I want to listen to it all over again

Super prep for my trip to Ireland

I had put this on my wish list and then bought it after reading the review in The New York Times, before I knew I’d be traveling to Ireland. Once I had travel plans, I decided it is a great time to listen to this book. Indeed, I’m sure listening to this will help me appreciate what I experience there (I plan on traveling the trains and visiting not just Dublin, and also going to Belfast). This book is very compelling and fascinating (don’t pay attention to those reviewers who did not enjoy the detail - the detail is important for the understanding of the significance of certain events and developments). I wasn’t totally ignorant of this history (and relatively current events in the latter chapters), but this book has definitely increased my knowledge and awareness. At first I just thought the narrator was OK, but by the time the book concluded, I realized he did a very fine job, and was able to express the indignation that much of what is told deserves. I highly recommend this book.

truly spectacular

What a wonderful listen —reader was terrific and did real justice to O’Toole’s witty and moving account of Ireland’s amazing changes during his lifetime. Highly recommend it!

Absolutely brilliant

Beautifully written, poignant, sad, and hopeful. I'm sorry the book is done and I'm not sure where to go from here that won't be a let down.