Owen Mcgee

I found this book quite enjoyable. McGee has done extensive research for this book of Griffith and he deserved a more up to date biography. I learned a lot of additional information from reading it. I always admired Griffith's convictions and how he was an honest politician toiling away before his politics became popular until the Rising. McGee significantly reviews his early career and clashes with the Home Rulers and arguments for economic protectionism. Then he is seen as the loyal lieutenant to de Valera and Collins during the War of Independence but as McGee rightly points out his role during this time, despite his imprisonment should not be understated. Perhaps more time could have been spent to assess the Treaty and the Treaty debates from a new angle but it is clear of the author's point of view here. I thought his views of Erskine Childers were somewhat abrasive and while he highlights how Fianna Fáil did engage in significant social housing building when in government in the 1930s he did not credit Seán T. O'Kelly as the man responsible. However, he had previously pointed out that O'Kelly and Griffith had fallen out during the Treaty. It was Fianna Fáil that put his policies of protectionism into practice.… (meer)