Far more Irishmen live outside Ireland than within it. This fascinating study, by Ireland's best known and most controversial contemporary historian, reveals why this is, how it has come about and what the realities are today - political, economic, religious and cultural - for the populations of the 'Irish Diaspora' and the countries they now inhabit. Based on first-hand research in America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe (including, of course, the UK), this book reveals the workings of Irish communities throughout the world, some with great political and economic power (such as in the US, where the Irish political tradition has dominated politics from the 19th century Tammany Hall to presidents Kennedy and Clinton), some with enormous moral authority (including Irish religious communities in Africa) and others living in poverty on the fringes of society.

A journey into our own psyche... . Tim Pat Coogan has dug, Heaney-like, into the past while opening doors to faraway places. - Frank McCourt
Tim Pat Coogan manages to find the story in almost every country he has visited. This volume will stand as a challenging and controversial work... - Dermot Keogh, The Irish Times
A journey into our own psyche.... Tim Pat Coogan has dug, Heaney-like, into the past while opening doors to faraway places. - Frank McCourt

Tim Pat Coogan manages to find the story in almost every country he has visited. This volume will stand as a challenging and controversial work... - Dermot Keogh, The Irish Times

Tim Pat Coogan is the former editor of the Irish Press and the author of The Troubles, De Valera, Michael Collins and The IRA (among other bestselling books).