History: It was inevitable that Tim Pat Coogan would write his own account of the last century in Ireland, in which he played an important role as editor of the historic Irish Press, as biographer of nation-builders, and as chronicler of turbulent times, writes Gemma Hussey.
His point of view is clear. " Tragedy, lost opportunity, emigration, poverty, bloodshed and death" - these factors, which beset Ireland for much of the last century, could have been avoided, he says, if "English decision-takers . . . had not ignored the democratically expressed wishes of an overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of the island of Ireland in favour of a colonial oligarchy . . ." His sombre assessment is that this pattern "was coming ominously close to repetition" as this new book was being written.
Ireland distanced itself from the 1960s onwards from "two forms of colonialism - Mother England and Mother Church" - but he is still not sure that we have managed the latter freedom. Some of the finest writing in the book covers the modern revelations about the widespread abuse of children in religious-run institutions - and the author is clearly upset and enraged.
Before launching himself on to the 20th century, Coogan ranges over territory from Randolph Churchill's 1886 words "Ulster will fight and Ulster will be right" to the Gaelic revival, and the generation of Irishmen educated by the fiercely nationalist Christian Brothers (who, according to the historian, F.X. Martin, have not been given "due recognition for their part in the nationalist struggle, particularly for their unqualified support of the Gaelic revival"). Descriptions of the slums of Dublin as the century opened and of the bitter discrimination against the Catholic professional classes are given as the background to the rise of Bonar Law and Carson, leading to the Ulster Covenant, signed by half a million people, including Protestants in the three Ulster counties that later became part of the Irish Free State.
Coogan's account of the 1916 Rising, the Civil War and the early years of the State is characteristically racy and gripping (the term "six counties" is constantly used). Coogan's father was deputy commissioner of the new Garda and experienced at first hand the extreme difficulty faced by the fledgling force. He gave the threatened, anxious and poverty-stricken new recruits this advice: "Start talking to the people. Stay with the people. Never stop talking to the people."
De Valera's reputation was hugely enhanced by his performance in removing both himself and his country from the international stage during the critical moment in world history - the second World War. This is one of the ironies about de Valera, who saw himself as an international statesman. A lively section deals with the British proposal to introduce conscription in Northern Ireland - which the Unionists wanted, and which De Valera described as "an act of aggression". Coogan makes the analogy that "it was as if in our day the Israelis were to attempt to enforce conscription on the Palestinians to fight for the Americans".
The gloomy 1950s, however, saw the appointment by Fine Gael's Gerald Sweetman of 39-year-old T.K. Whitaker as secretary of the Department of Finance. Coogan rightly sees Whitaker and his later political master, Seán Lemass, as the catalysts for change, ushering in undreamed-of possibilities for Ireland which - however unsteadily - were eventually realised. What Whitaker did for economics, others tried to do for pluralism and openness. Varying degrees of hypocrisy continually undercut the efforts of people such as Garret FitzGerald. Perhaps it was to be expected that Fianna Fáil would stay publicly neutral on divorce during the first referendum on the subject in 1986 while furiously canvassing against it on the ground, but the cowardice of Church leaders is still shocking. Cardinal O'Fiaich told Coogan in a private conversation that he shared FitzGerald's view on the subject but "in public the party line had to be followed".
Ireland in 1900 was a wretchedly poor colony of Britain with very few signs of what the future would bring. At the end of the century Coogan is pessimistic in the light of child abuse, corruption and tribunals, crime and drugs . . . but then came the Special Olympics, which made him feel that "the Celtic Tiger had not devoured the Irish caring tradition".
The book's vast subject is handled smoothly, while imbued throughout with the author's own distinctive viewpoint. Anger and indignation at the sins of late 20th- century leaders of Church and State overshadow too much his assessment of modern Ireland, which is, after all, a bit of a miracle.
Gemma Hussey is director of the European Women's Foundation, a former government minister, and author of Ireland Today: Anatomy of a Changing State (Viking Penguin, 1995)
Ireland in the Twentieth Century By Tim Pat Coogan Hutchinson, 862pp. £25