From the night when the Irish government guaranteed the debts of Irish banks in September 2008, to November 2010 when heavy hitters from the IMF and the ECB arrived in government buildings , Ireland was on a one-way road to ruin. In How Ireland Really Went Bust Matt Cooper, journalist, broadcaster and No 1 bestselling author of Who Really Runs Ireland?, describes the tumultuous events of that period and he assesses the fall-out and what it means for Ireland's future. Drilling deep into the human dramas, the business catastrophes, the economic collapse and the unprecedented political upheaval that characterised the time after the bank bailout and led to a game-changing general election, Cooper gets to the heart of what really happened. He investigates the background of the key decisions and reveals why they were taken, and by whom, to throw new light on a period that has changed Ireland forever. Finally, Cooper sees signs that all is not lost - though we may have sunk to our lowest ebb as an economic entity, he sees glimmers of promise in a new breed of business leaders and political activists who see this as a time when Ireland can change for the better.

In over twenty years as a reporter (Business & Finance, Sunday Business Post, Irish Independent) and editor (Sunday Tribune), and now as a radio presenter (Today FM) and newspaper opinion columnist (Sunday Times, Irish Examiner), Matt Cooper has enjoyed proximity and access to the most significant people in Irish politics and business, hearing from them and hearing about them from a variety of sources. His depth of experience means he is in an unrivalled position to assess and interpret the actions of the powerful and their implications for us all.