Paddy's Lament: Ireland 1846-1847 Prelude to Hatred

I am not an expert on Irish history or even particularly well-read about it, but this book caught my attention. Actually, my interest had been sparked by a song by Sinead O'Connor titled "Famine" and its claim that there "never really was one." Her point was that there was enough food for the Irish but that it was sent to England while the Irish starved. It was a good song but left me wondering if that wasn't an oversimplified account and a gross overstatement of British culpability. This book not only supports O'Connor's assertions, it details them using diaries, letters, and other documents to support its claims. I found myself wondering, why didn't anyone tell me about this before? I never heard or read anything about it when I was a student, and Social Studies was one of the two classes I was most interested in. Now, as a teacher, I look at the five world history textbooks and I see why. In the five books combined there are 19 pages about the Holocaust, 24 pages about slavery in America- and 3 paragraphs about the Irish Potato Famine. I'm not saying the books shouldn't spend significant time on the Holocaust and slavery (I'd like to see them address these two issues in greater detail), and I'm not suggesting there should be an entire chapter on the famine-but I do think schools should teach about the way the Irish Catholics were forced to send food to England, were forced to tithe the Anglican church, the British were slow to respond to the crisis and provided a flavored soup nearly devoid of nutrition, and the way the Irish were exploited to take "coffin ships" to America. Unless/until the textbooks cover this topic in more detail, let's hope more people stumble upon this book and others like it.

Thomas Gallagher was an old family friend, so in some respects my review of his works may be slightly biased. In fact, in the years before he died, he was a mentor to me in my own writing. Unfortunately, he passed on before he could see that I dedicated my first novel to him.In terms of his books, PADDY'S LAMENT and ASSAULT IN NORWAY are among his best. Mr. Gallagher always had a talent for taking an obscure event in history and showing its importance in such a way that the final product reads like a novel. I first read both of the above works in 1990, while still in college, and I remember marvelling at how crisp every one of his sentences was. He achieved elegance through hard work, and both of these works are testament to it.

This book is important for all of us to read. We must learn from our past, but how do we do this if we are kept in the dark about such history? Why were we not taught this in school? It is too important and in reading, I feel I am paying my respects, empathy, and honor to all those who suffered such a tragic period in Irish history.

1st - Why the hell is this book out of print????? Every student of Irish history should HAVE to read this.My parents had this book lying around our house for years, but it was not until I was in my 20's that I actually read it. I could not put it down. Thomas Gallagher did extensive research into the tragedy and genocide that was the Irish famine. The book is acurate and fast moving. Anyone interested in this period of history should read it immediately. This one book gives the complete story - from the evening when the 'fog' appeared to the Irish's desperate attempt to flee their country. I read a book a week, and this is honestly the most amazing book I have ever read.No lie... I am going to break up with my boyfriend if he does not read it soon.