Well-Remembered Days : Eoin O'Ceallaigh's Memoir of a Twentieth-Century Catholic Life

by Arthur Mathews

Meet Eoin writer, poet, nationalist, playwright, civil servant, commentator and champion of the traditional values of Ireland. Little known, until now, outside of his homeland, Well-Remembered Days is not only his story, but the story of a nation. The irrepressible Eoin recounts the events of his life. From the early twentieth century (Eoin explodes the myth of Irish poverty, showing that it was merely confined to a handful of ten or twelve malcontents) to the horrifyingly liberal 1990s (with its garbage TV shows such as Father Ted) OCeallaigh has seen it all. However, he will be best remembered for the formation of The League of the Mother of God against Sin, the organization that kept jazz and contemporary dance out of Irish life for decades.

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Ireland, Irish Literature, Comedy

211 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[○°☆ carlita ☆°○ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5★
absolutely hilarious and unserious while sharing memories about growing up in a catholic ireland in the 20th century.
nevertheless, you can tell this is told by an old white man despising modern woman's rights and liberals to a point where it's not just satire :D

[Alex Sarll]

A spoof misery memoir from the Father Ted creator we still talk about*, or rather, a memoir which doesn't know what all the misery memoirs are complaining about. Eoin O'Ceallaigh spent the 20th century proudly campaiging against all threats to Ireland: mucky books, Protestantism, women forgetting their place in the home, jazz... And now all that good work is being talked about as though it was somehow repressive! Fine Irish institutions such as the Republican Paedophile Priest are being thrown away! Angela's Ashes was a bestseller! It won't do, and O'Ceallaigh wants to set the record straight: "The poverty that McCourt harps on about was confined to a handful of malcontents (probably no more that ten or twelve)". Now, I've not read Angela's Ashes, let alone any of the ripostes to it which inspired this, but if you've ever heard some ghastly old specimen play the 'and it never did me any harm' card, while the harm it did them is obvious to everyone but themselves, you'll get the core joke. "A Brother once stood on my head for an hour while I recited the decades of the rosary in Latin. I admit it was unpleasant at the time, but if he hadn't done it, how would I have turned out? Like Boyzone or the Corrs?" That's not the only approach – there's plenty of oblivious narrator stuff, and a lot of outright silliness – but between them all the gag rate is such that when one doesn't work, and plenty don't, there's always another along soon. No classic, but certainly a worthier footnote to Father Ted than the other business, and next time I watch an episode of Normal People, there'll be an additional layer of gratitude for how much O'Ceallaigh and his sadly less fictional ilk would hate the new Ireland it shows.

*NB I have no knowledge of the position Arthur Mathews may or may not take on any issues of the day. But that's fine by me. He's not become a monomaniacal, unavoidable evangelist for being wrong, is the point; if he's quietly wrong in his own time, that's another matter.

[Kerrie O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want and laugh read this, and then get mad because it's true and that's not so funny.

[Marievontrapphotmail.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books . Ever. It makes my lungs ache with laughs xx

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in the charity section in Tesco. I recognised the author as one half of the Father Ted writing team, but I had no idea if Arthur was trying to do something more grown-up and write the biography of some guy I’d never heard of (but might well be famous in some circles), or if this was a comedy book. It doesn’t take long to figure out it’s the latter.

The fictional subject of this biography is Eion O’Cellaigh, a civil servant who does his best to stop the Ireland he grew up in from disappearing. He does this by using his limited government powers to ban any book, music, play or poem that he believes might corrupt the good God-fearing people of Ireland. His job is only part of the fun though, there’s also his tips on how to have a long lasting marriage without ever having to indulge that ‘sex’ business, and how through his efforts alone, Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in 1979.

I have not laughed this much in bed since my feather pillow burst. It’s hard to believe this came out in 2001 and I’m only finding out about it now! I can’t even compare it to another book I’ve read that was anywhere near as funny. As with Father Ted, some of the humour is ridiculously unreal, some is overt and other stuff is very subtle, but it’s all very funny. I cannot think of a funnier book I have read.

[AlexF · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another satire on religion from one of the co-creators of Father Ted, I enjoyed it overall and it did make me laugh out loud a good deal, though I'd say it was more a case of laughing a lot at the beginning (the first 50 pages, at least) and then slightly less as it went on. There were also some bits which felt like a bit of a misfire (the constant meanness regarding Maire's appearance, his lack of an interest in sex), while it's a little repetitious at times, but despite these issues I'm fond of it and if you're a fan of the man's writing I'd definitely recommend it. 3.25/5

[Owen Conlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Side-splitting.

[Avinash Mamtora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful Irish satire! Something that tumbled out of a cupboard during my brief sabbatical that I spent mostly at home. Must read.

[Aisling Stack · Rating 1 out of 5]

Parts were funny, but this book wasn’t for me

[Darla Ebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to tell truth from fiction but this is genuine satire at its most cutting. I loved it except for some of the vulgarities. The is a true talent with wit. The author, through his alter-ego as book subject, courageously takes on his country, his Irish culture as well as the Catholic church.

[Kelv · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the first three quarters I found this book to repetitive, inappropriate and all over the place. While easy to read, I found the humour not to my liking as well as what appeared to be an abuse of exclamation marks.

In digressing, for the last quarter I felt I had finally picked up the 'tongue in cheek' tune of the writer and was able to appreciate the humour and life of Eoin, in which gave some out loud laughing.

I dare say that if I was to re-read the book it would probably be enjoyable from start to finish.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ireland's development over the past century as described by the vivid wit and staunch Catholic, Eoin O' Ceallaigh.

Arthur Mathews' savagely funny satire is crammed with sly references to amuse readers. But at the centre of it all is the hypocrisy of the holier than thou Eoin, who cannot enjoy life without getting one over on his peers.

[Tim Begley · Rating 1 out of 5]

To me, this is a confusing attempt to mix satire with facts but the outcome does not create a great book. On the other hand, if is was portrayed through a TV series, like Father Ted, you would have a winning combination. Stick to the TV series Arthur.

[John Donoghue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really funny pseudo biography written by one of the creators of Father Ted.

Amazingly bizarre!