Author: Kevin C. Kearns
Brand: Gill Books
Number Of Pages: 380
Release Date: 11-09-2015
Details: Product Description Born in the Liberties of Dublin in 1910, Jim Branigan was, by his own admission, a shy, scrawny sissy as a lad. Cruelly beaten by bullies in the railway yard where he worked during his teens, he refused to fight back. Yet he went on to become a heavyweight boxing champion and to earn the undisputed reputation as the country’s toughest and bravest garda. Refusing to carry a baton and relying upon his fists instead, he dealt with Dublin’s array of gurriers and criminals, taking on the vicious animal gangs of the 1930s and 40s and quelling the wild rock-and-roll riots of the 50s. Ironically, for all his fame as a tough, fearless garda, he was most beloved for his humanity and compassion. His role as guardian of the battered women of the tenements and as protector and father figure of the city’s piteous prostitutes or pavement hostesses, as he called them was unrecorded in the press and hushed up by the Garda brass. His is a tale of extraordinary courage and compassion, and this untold part of his story is long overdue. Here is a book that presents a revealing and unvarnished portrait of the man and his life, authenticated by the oral testimony of family members, friends and Garda mates who stood with him through the most harrowing and poignant experiences. Praise for Kevin Kearns unique set of oral histories of Dublin (2014) The Legendary Lugs Branigan: Ireland’s Most Famed Garda 'A revealing portrait not just of a passionate and dedicated public figure, but also of a society undergoing great and constant change. ' The Irish Independent 'A tale of extraordinary courage and compassion. ' Ireland’s Own (2011) Ireland’s Arctic Siege: The Big Freeze of 1947 'This story might have come from some Polar Expedition. It is almost unbelievable that such conditions could exist in Ireland. 'The Irish Times (2009) The Bombing of Dublin’s North Strand, 1941: The Untold Story 'What shines through is the courage and goodness of ordinary people, untrained for such catastrophe, in their attempts to save and help their fellow Dubliners. ' The Irish Times (1994) Dublin Tenement Life: An Oral History 'Among the finest books ever written about Dublin. ' The Sunday Tribune 'This is truly an admirable book, capturing echoes of a vanished world and vanished assumptions, vanished pieties, vanished aspirations. It is only by reading this book that I was enabled to re-imagine the society which the respondents recalled to Kevin Kearns during what must have been many hundreds of hours of patient interviewing. ' The Irish Times 'This book confirmed what I had always believed: Dublin in the rare old times was a rat-infested, overcrowded, unhygienic battle for the one-third of the capital’s heroic population who lived in one-room – in the worst slums in Europe … This book will long stand as the definitive social history of Ireland’s gulags, where the poor were herded together in conditions worse than animals and will hopefully serve as further inspiration to those who still campaign for decent housing for all our citizens. ' Joe Duffy, The Sunday Press (1998) Dublin Voices: An Oral Folk History 'This book is a goldmine of tiny details. The narrative voices that speak from every page of this book do so in an unfiltered language entirely their own. ' The Sunday Times Review A revealing portrait not just of a passionate and dedicated public figure, but also of a society undergoing great and constant change. --Eamon Delaney, Irish Independent A tale of extraordinary courage and compassion. --Ireland’s Own One of those people who become a legend in his own time. --Chief Superintendent Edmund Doherty About the Author Kevin C. Kearns, Ph.D., is a social historian and Professor Emeritus at the University of Northern Colorado. He has written more than ten books on Dublin, most notably Dublin Tenement Life, which was number 1 on the Irish Times bestseller list for many weeks. Other books include Ireland’s Arctic Siege and T
EAN: 9780717168293
Languages: English
Binding: Paperback
Item Condition: UsedLikeNew