1999: A Novel of the Celtic Tiger and the Search for Peace (Irish Century) by Morgan Llywelyn

Irish Century Novels #5

by Morgan Llywelyn

The Irish Century concludes in this climactic novel; Llywelyn's masterpiece is completeThe Irish Century series is the story of the Irish people's epic struggle for independence through the tumultuous course of the twentieth century. Morgan Llywelyn's magisterial multi-novel chronicle of that story began with 1916 , which was followed by 1921 , 1949 , and 1972 . It now concludes with 1999: A Novel of the Celtic Tiger and the Search for Peace . 1999 brings the story from 1972 to the disarmament talks and beginnings of reconciliation among the Irish at the end of the twentieth century.Barry Halloran, strong, clever, and passionately patriotic, who was the central character of 1972 , remains central. Now a crippled photojournalist, he marries his beloved Barbara Kavanaugh, and steps back from the armed struggle. Through his work he documents the historic events that take us from the horrific aftermath of Bloody Sunday through the decades of The Troubles to the present. This is a noble conclusion to an historical mega-novel that will be read for years.The Irish Century A Novel of the Irish The Great Novel of the Irish Civil A Novel of the Irish Free A Novel of Ireland's Unfinished A Novel of the Celtic Tiger and the Search for PeaceAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Ireland, Fiction, Irish Literature, Audiobook, Historical

Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Morgan Llywelyn (born 1937) is an American-born Irish author best known for her historical fantasy, historical fiction, and historical non-fiction. Her fiction has received several awards and has sold more than 40 million copies, and she herself is recipient of the 1999 Exceptional Celtic Woman of the Year Award from Celtic Women International.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the final novel of her Irish Century series, Morgan Llywelyn offers readers a high-impact story that ties off much of the violence and political clashes that left the region stained in blood. Barry Halloran continues his life as a photojournalist, eager to capture Ireland as a whole while the North is still under British control. While the world advances through the years, it would seem that Anglo-Irish relations as it relates to uniting the thirty-two colonies has reached a standstill. Meanwhile, blood flows freely as both sides seek targeted attacks to prove their points. As Barry seeks to capture all the action, he has a family now and must stay close by to better understand the concerns in his own household. While Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA, has begun secret talks to bring peace to fruition, there seems to be many individuals who will not be happy until violence drives the British out once and for all. The Hallorans have had a stake in the Irish Question for almost a century and the Troubles—the vernacular for these clashes—do not seem to be ending anytime soon. However, as the end of the millennium approaches, might there be a lasting peace on the horizon? Something that both sides can accept to end the senseless killing and sacrifice of innocent lives, divided by a religious conviction that is marinaded in political history? Llywelyn develops her story so effectively that the series reader will want to see how things play out, ending a powerful Irish Century.

So, there we have it. Five books that have not only spun a multi-generational tale of power and passion, but a country seeking to rid itself of foreign shackles as it limps towards a lasting independence. Morgan Llywelyn has done so well to keep the reader enthralled, while still painting a narrative full of struggle and pain. Barry Halloran again holds the protagonist role, having turned in much of his gun arsenal for a camera to capture the struggles in the North. He is still firmly republican and will stop at nothing to bring the final six counties back to their rightful place with the Irish Free State. Democracy can only go so far, it would seem, so Barry is using all his connections to push for a final solution. Ignoring his wife and family when he is wrapped up in Belfast’s ongoing strife, Barry is left to fight a war on the home front, not helped by his mother, Ursula, whose sage advice stings as much as a bullet wound at times. Other characters grace the pages and show just how complex and troublesome the Irish peace process can be. It is less the politicians who are creating issues—though Llewelyn depicts them as slow to seek lasting solutions—but the splinter groups and British Army who seek violence first and answers later. Llywelyn develops this violent narrative well, placing much of it as announcements from the historical record. The novel ties things off, especially the rejuvenated clashes that have peppered the history books throughout the 1960s and 70s, but built up again throughout the 1980s, a time I remember well. While Llewelyn is using a fiction-based delivery, her story is full of history and Irish-flavoured depictions of events as the struggle to bring peace to Ireland remains all but a done deal throughout. The series using five novels to bring the story to the forefront, impacting the attentive reader with the struggles while weaving together a family’s own personal clashes with staying together as the land they so love is jostled. Morgan Llewelyn is a masterful writer and has shown that she knows her stuff. Anyone with an interest in the Irish Question ought to find this series and devour it, as the writing flows so well and will keep the reader captivated.

Kudos, Madam Llywelyn, for keeping Ireland relevant throughout. A perfect read in the lead-up to St. Patrick’s Day, though history is wonderful no matter the date!

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final book in the Irish Century novel series, and I think it was wrapped up nicely. See my full, no spoiler review, on my BookTube channel!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1qMD...

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picking up right where 1972 left off, Bloody Sunday, 1999 is the final novel in the Irish Century series. This book is filled to the brim with the tension, mayhem and horror that marked the last quarter of the 20th century in Ireland. Events from Bloody Sunday, the random murders of the Irish people for nothing more than their religion, the bombing of Dublin, the explosion that killed Lord Mountbatten and his grandchildren while boating, the interment of suspected Volunteers in inhumane conditions that flouted guidelines set out by the Geneva Convention while paramilitaries on the loyalist side were given free reign, the hunger strike that resulted in the deaths of ten men - including Bobby Sands who was a member of the British Paliment though still imprisoned, and other events that defy explination. With this for a backdrop, the Halloran family saga continues with Barry's marriage and the birth of his children.

This is a hard book for me to review. I learned more from this book than I did from any of the others. The information in the first four books is knowledge that has become well known to anyone who has studied Irish history. It is easy to access and educate yourself on the time period preceeding Bloody Sunday. The events following Bloody Sunday are a different story. The British government clamped down on all news getting in and out of Northern Ireland, telling the world only what it wanted to know. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher become one of the single greatest enemies of the Irish people since the Easter uprising and Rebellion. I was shocked by the revelation that the British not only approved of loyalist paramilitaries while calling IRA members terrorists, but they assisted them by providing both guns and information. I was also shocked by the abject poverty in which the Irish continued to live. Some regions, even in the early 1990s, were without indoor plumbing.

On the other hand, the storyline was completely out of sync. The timeline of events was hopelessly tangled and annoyed this reader to no end. In addition, Barry's wife was utterly unlikeable. It really detracted from the book as a whole. If I were to rate the story separate from the facts it would only get 2 stars while the factual events would get a solid five stars.

[Katy M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt rushed. I don't know if the author just got sick of the series. Or, if there was too much info for one book, but not enough for two. The last 10 years or so just felt like it was on fast forward.

I haven't like Ursula since 1949, and while she was more likeable as an old lady, I didn't really feel she redeemed herself in my eyes. And, Barbara. Is anyone really that self-centered? We are all, every one of us, self-centered to a certain degree. But, I swear, Barbara thinks people exist only for her convenience and amusement.

And, I don't know if the author was losing track of time, but it didn't seem like she knew how old barry's kids were getting. They were born betwen 1973 or 4 and 1979 and in the mid-90s Barry is having to explain things to them. Not that I'm saying they should know everything by their 20s, but it seemed like he was explaining to literal children, not his children. And in 1997, when the oldest child was 23 or 24, he said he didn't know what he was going to be (career-wise), but whatever he did he would win. What? How can he have no idea what he's going to do with his life at that stage. He is, of course, free to change his mind, or not succeed and have to do something different, but still aimless at 23? And nobody says anything about this? Not even Ursula, AKA, Little Business-so named because she was always busy?

[John Kalnberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but seemed like the author ran out of steam

I enjoyed the series and reading this is a necessary part of finishing 5hat. However, this individual book was short on plot and includes a lot of pure listing of what happened. As history it is interesting, as a novel the other books in the series were much better.

[Viola Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful end to the saga of the Halloran family. Llweylen's blending of history and fiction was masterful. She showed the horror of the war and what can happen when brave men put aside their differences for peace. Ursula and Barry are wonderfully drawn characters.

Long Live Ireland and may she one day be one!

[Judy Dhuse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I liked the series. It gave me a better understanding of the struggles Ireland has gone through to obtain independence. This book felt rushed and disjointed however. Because the fictional characters no longer seemed to be involved in events happening around them, a lot of information seemed as an aside and no longer as important as it should have been. Still the book was OK and I still learned quite a bit about what was going on when I was of an age to pay attention to the violence going on in that part of the world.

[Joe McMahon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to agree with the general mood of the other reviewers. There were some inconsistencies in the fictional plot, but it was bearable. Two topics stand out in my interest: the extent to which loyalty can be destructive; and the role of collusion between a government's secret agencies and people who murder.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike the previous books from the series, this one "only" gets four stars from me.

You have to get used to the episodical style it is written in (which is similar to 1921, 1949 and 1972), but then it's quite interesting and compelling to read. It gives you a good feeling for the time passing. And I loved all of the little details like which songs were popular at the time or new technologies like mobile phones or the internet. Though they are not vital for the plot, it helps to establish a feeling for the period of time.

I'll say, what bugged me most were these things:
-Barbara's and Barry's relationship. They were both being incredibly pretty a huge chunk of the time and both of their behaviour pissed me off a lot. Barry literally using sex to make Barbara "more easy to handle" horrified me - no, I don't think it's assault, but it sure seems like manipulation to me, and it definitely is not a productive strategy to solve their relationship problems. The fact that they were unable to have a conversation about their issues was disappointing (and yes, Barbara IS dramatic and selfcentered, but Barry can be incredibly condescending).
-I hate that Barbara wasn't taken seriously wheb she said that she didn' want kids at the beginning of their marriage. It was like Barry saying that he wanted Kids concluded the whole discussion.
-I feel like we were robbed of Barry-as-a-new-dad content.
-especially in the second half of the book I forgot the actual ages of Barry, Barbara and the kids. Barry still seemed to be just like when he was in his 30s when he is actually 60 years old at the end of the book, ageing could have been a bigger topic for Barbara (it was only mentioned once), and their children appeared so little that you didn't even get to know them properly, let alone get a feeling for their ages.
-I'm sad that Séamus got the ending that he did. I don't want to spoil anything so I'm not going to say too much, but it did seem a bit out of character for me.

This seems like a lot of criticism, but overall I still loved reading the book and I learned a lot. I know that the series is finished with this book, but now that it's 20 years later and the Brexit is stirring the whole situation again, I would love to read a sixth book too.

[Eb Mcdermott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am sad this series has ended - and I wish it ended with a better book. This final segment of the wonderful Irish History series is an encyclopedic timeline of everything major that happened in Ireland and around the world. What made it bearable was that I lived many of these events by being in Ireland when they occurred or in England, mostly oblivious that all this was taking place. In the current time when we are devouring the current events it is shocking how little I noticed. (But I found reliving the events or refreshing my memory by googling made the book more interesting....but a much longer read.)

However I also believe that the papers carried precious little about the Troubles. According to Morgan Llywelyn, Even in the Republic of Ireland the papers gave short shrift to the ongoing battle in the north.

The other major disappointments were the sad state of the central family characters. The American wife needed to go home. Her voice was the fingernail on the chalk board throughout the book. I kept hoping that something would change but it didn’t. And finally Seamus. Really? Stupid plot ploy.

To learn about Ireland these books are fantastic. But leave 1999 till last - haha

[Shaun Deane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful series. Sorry to see them done. As things wrapped up, there was one very poignant result for one of the grandchildren that was powerful. Won't include spoiler. I don't really understand other reviews that describe the author "running out of gas," or that Ursula was not a character worthy of admiration. Seriously? She was so fully realized in my view and the connective tissue from the first to the last of the books. Or another reviewer saying of Barry's wife - "is anyone capable of being that self-centered" and it makes me wonder what most people's experiences have been because I have known at least three people like her in my own family :-) ! Anyway, just a terrific reading experience. I should have been out in the nice sunny, post tropical storm day but couldn't put this one down. Seems telling that as I type this, "Arthur MacBride," by Paul Brady just started playing on Spotify. I'll take that.

[Robin Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely loved every single second of this series. Never stopped being blown away at how impeccably well-researched each novel was. Llwelyn makes these complex historical events with a seemingly never ending list of important figures both extremely accessible and incredibly entertaining. I genuinely could read 100 more instalments of this series and never tire of it.

I’ve read a ton of Irish history and I loved how Llewelyn was able to bring to life these names that I’ve read dozens of times. She does an incredible job of providing the context for the actions of each of these characters.

Also there’s nothing better than an Irish novel with an overt Republican bias!!

[Joe Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Others have said this last book in the series felt rushed. I am not so sure rushed is how I felt. After the beginning of the Troubles and from Bloody Sunday forward seem to fly by due to the repetition of the daily news day after day. And again like others wonder why Barbara was made to be so unlikable. Perhaps a preconceived notion of how Americans act and think. I did enjoy the entire series and Morgan shows an outstanding grasp of the history of the entire island. This is a very good read.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew of violence in Ireland, but not how much. Britain encouraged murder of Catholics. No move to stop the violence. Sadistic groups, assasinations, innocents - it went on and on. I felt like much of the book was list after list of atrocities. As with previous books I get lost with all the different groups and splinters. The characters that should have glued the story together weren't interesting. Stiil, I did learn some history. Shocking how the church ruled - banning contraception, divorce, women working after marriage... Ireland really was a backwards country for a long time.

[robert p jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great culmination to the series. I read each book and appreciated the way Ms. Llwelyn mixes Irish

History with a good story and strong believable characters. I recently visited "the heroes cemetary" in Dublin with a marvelous guide that presented the great Irish heroes in a way that added to the books. If you're Irish this puts the history of Ireland in proper perspective and is a must read.

[Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last book of the Irish Century series closes the story of the Irish struggle for independence ending in the Good Friday accords and cessation of hostilities between Catholics in the Republic of Ireland and Protestants in Northern Ireland which began in 1916 on what is known as “Bloody Sunday.” Barry Halloran lays to rest the family’s involvement that began with his grandfather Ned a survivor of the Titanic’s tragedy

[Tom Garland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this entire series...historical fiction of an Irish family as Ireland progressed into an independent nation. If you read this book start with 1916, 1923, 1949, 1972 and final book 1999. Great writer...beautifully. Great historical context not just in Ireland but around the world. I learned a lot about the struggle for Irish independence.

[Mairo Dilworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This final book in the series was again extensively researched and very well written. The fictional characters are not as prominent, so the factual history of the period takes central stage. I found it a really difficult read, as it challenged many preconceived ideas about the different factions whose actions comprised the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

[Gene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like all of her books. I’ve come away with a profound dislike of Great Britain. I hope Brexit destroys Northern Ireland and the UK. The Brits deserve the worst that can possibly occur to their crappy island.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this entire series and I'm in mourning that it's over. Thank you so much, Morgan Llywelyn, for bringing Irish history to life for me!

For anyone going to Ireland, read this series... it will add depth and richness to the historic sites and scenery you experience there.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the preceding four novels in this series but I found that this one to be much more tedious. The book simply listed historical fact as opposed to weaving it into the story line. The characters were not developed as much as they were in the prior novels.

[Rosemary Salisbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Interesting historical fiction. I'm sorry this is the last book in the series. The characters are well developed and the characters
and storyline both fit in with and enhance funding of the history.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not as flowy as the rest of the series and heavier on historical facts/timelines but I still enjoyed it. It was amazing to see what was happening just across the pond leading up to my own lifetime... And to learn more about the events and names I've heard growing up

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book and loved this series. I will miss the characters and the insight in to Irish and world history, Maybe it's time for a book about Barry's children.

[Bob Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the whole series because it’s worth every second

[Gary Fawcett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great ending to the series.

[Mary Alaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best series I have ever read. From 1916 to 1999, I feel that I have a better understanding of the Irish experience. How the Irish just wanted to be their own country, to be free to rule themselves, but the interests and the might of the English government wouldn't allow it .
I remember the the one sided filtered press that we (the U.S.) got about what was happening in Ireland. The atrocities committed by the IRA, but not the atrocities committed by the British Military. We heard about the people starving themselves to death, but not the reason why. They starved because it was the only way to protest the inhumane treatment they received as political prisoners. I remember Bobby Sands. I remember the Irish being portrayed as "those Irish, they never know when to leave well enough alone." In fact, there was so much abuse done to them that we never heard about.
I'm happy to now know the Irish side of the story. The side the British Government didn't want me to know.
I can say that I am more proud than ever to be of Irish heritage.
Up the Irish!!

[Wagrobanite · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I didn't enjoy this book as some of the others in the series, overall it was a good book! I didn't think the author did as well of a job explaining all the different parts of Irish politics in the late 70s, 1980s and 1990s but it was good none the less. The one thing I really didn't like about it and why it didn't get four stars was having Barry end up with Barbara. It was a horrible match and everybody around them knew it. I wanted to reach in to the book and wring her neck and say go back home. Barry deserves someone better. I really did not understand why the author made this relationship and the relationship never felt genuine like Ned's did with Sile. It felt very forced and almost too cliche, like oh we have to have the granddaughter of Ursula's beloved Henry end up with her son. It just didn't work for me. . Other than that, I thought this book went well, though I really wished Llywelyn would have explained what happened to Seamus... just like with Kathleen from 1916, he's just dropped off the face of the earth

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the best historical fiction I've ever read. In fact, most of these books in her Irish Century series have been a little dull. I like the story, and liked the exposure to the characters thinking. Inasmuch as I lived through a lot of the events talked about in the book, or rather, I was alive during, it was interesting to see them from a different point of view. The story itself, though, is fairly week, and the book is only as long as it is because of the use of quotes and little snippets about what was going on around the world at the time. Again, those are necessary parts of good historical fiction, but she doesn't really include them in the story - just puts them in there as little freestanding paragraphs.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the last book in a gripping series about the Irish Troubles during the twentieth century. This last installment takes place between Blood Sunday 1972 and 1999. Llywelyn does a fantastic job bringing the reader in and ride the emotional roller-coaster that is the Irish life. She does a fantastic job of showing all the good that the IRA could do and all the bad that they did with it. How the different sects of unionists were ruthless to anyone that was not them. And how the British managed to make matters worse. This series is a must read for anyone that is interested in Irish history.