How a typical Irish emigrant rose to a position of influence at the highest levels of US and Irish politics.
A remarkable firsthand account of an Irish emigrant who began as a part-time footballer and house-painter and became a journalist, author, founder and publisher of two newspapers, a magazine and website, as well as a leading advocate for immigration reform for the ‘illegal’ Irish in the United States. He played a pivotal role in the Northern Ireland peace process, securing a US visa for Gerry Adams in 1994 and acting as intermediary between the White House and Sinn Féin during a critical time in the peace negotiations.
Niall O’Dowd has been described as: ‘the authentic voice of the Irish in America, who has more knowledge of this community than almost anyone else alive,’ by Jim Dwyer, New York Times and Pulitzer Prize winner.
'a worthy contribution to the literature on emigration and an insightful exploration of the relationship between Ireland and the US' Phoenix Magazine
'riveting political reportage' The Irish Times
'an affecting emigrant’s tale' The Irish Times
'highly readable' Phoenix Magazine
'a fascinating tale' The Irish Independent
'Some...would say that in America, his is the Irish Voice' The Irish Independent
'remarkable insiders story of the Northern Irish peace process' The Irish Times
'a "very humane and very humourous" story' The Irish Times
'the confident note struck in the first chapters is never fully absent, giving the book a positiveness that is rarely, if ever, present in these narrations' Galway Advertiser
'a witty and lively book, and a hopeful one' The Sunday Tribune
'at times painfully honest, at other times wittily self-effacing, this is O’Dowd’s account of his times as an undocumented Irishman working in the US' The Sunday Tribune
'Niall O’Dowd knows how to tell a story' Drogheda Independent
'a valuable contribution to the history of the peace process as well as the Irish emigrant experience' The Irish Times
'Niall O’Dowd has written an outstanding book' The Irish Independent
'a classic work of emigrant literature which, in the Irish canon, deserves to be assessed alongside such works such as Patrick McGill’s Children of the Dead End and Donal MacAmhlaigh’s Diallan Diorat or, in the American, with Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father' The Irish Independent
'His is an insider’s view of much of American and Irish-American politics as well as of significant events in' Books Ireland
'he authentic voice of the Irish in America, who has more knowledge of this community than almost anyone else alive' The New York Times
'A valuable contribution to the history of the peace process as well as the Irish emigrant experience. Niall’s is a powerful story and it may well yet prove to be a classic of the emigrant genre.' Taoiseach Brian Cowen
‘unflinchingly recounts the Irish immigrant experience of the 1980s ... a story familiar to Irish emigrants the world over, yet rarely is it written about so candidly' Huffington Post
'If you want to understand Irish America in the 21st century, you must read this book.' Huffington Post
'The book is fluid and dynamic, the story remarkable. You can detect the influence of American writers like Hemingway and Whitman. O’Dowd shares a similarly pure and eloquent writing voice: deceptively simple, but an art in itself.' Huffington Post
'this book is wonderful ... A fascinating read' Sunday Business Post
'His father would be hugely proud of him, and so should be all of us' The Irish Times
'a constant, reasonable and articulate voice' Sunday Business Post
'could lay claim to being not only the first emigrant classic of the 21st century, but also to opening up a whole new chapter in the experience of our exiles' Galway Advertiser
'honest, upbeat' Books Ireland
'This ‘fascinating book … gives us a rare glimpse of the rich tapestry of emigrant experience, as well as insights into the Northern peace process, in which he was a key player' Books Ireland
'a welcome breath of fresh air, not to say, an inspiration' Galway Advertiser
'a beacon of light and hope at a time when the prevalent climate is dark and depressing' Galway Advertiser
'reads almost like a thriller' Galway Advertiser
'A classic work of emigrant literature' The Irish Independent
'his story is a wonderful articulation of the tale of thousands of Irish immigrants' Sunday Business Post
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