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Our Man In Hibernia: Ireland, The Irish and Me
Each year on St Patrick’s Day eighty million people around the world celebrate their Irish ancestry. Millions more don leprechaun hats and down pints of Guinness in the annual high-fiving of Ireland and the Irish. Charlie Connelly was one of them. He thought he had a good idea of what Ireland was all about. He was, after all, practically Irish. He had a bodhran and everything. Then, when he was least expecting it, he went to live there. Our Man in Hibernia follows Charlie’s adventures among the Irish. Immersing himself in Ireland's language, music and literature, he learns how closely the rose-tinted image he’d grown up with matches the reality, and explores the land, from the small patch of Connemara bog that changed the world to the Holy Tree Stump of Rathkeale. From defining moments of the country’s history - the Great Famine and the Easter Rising - to its quirkier phenomena, such as the National Ploughing Championships and the Rose of Tralee, in Our Man in Hibernia Charlie Connelly paints an evocative, entertaining and witty portrait of Ireland today.
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2010
4 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Charlie Connelly
31 books30 followersCharlie Connelly (born 22 August 1970, London, England) is an author of popular non-fiction books. In addition to being a writer, Connelly also appears as a presenter on radio and television shows.
Charlie Connelly is a bestselling author and award-winning broadcaster. His many books include Attention All Shipping: A Journey Round The Shipping Forecast, In Search of Elvis: A Journey To Find The Man Beneath The Jumpsuit and Our Man In Hibernia: Ireland, The Irish And Me. Three of his books have featured as Radio 4′s Book of the Week read by Martin Freeman, Stephen Mangan and Tom Goodman-Hill. Charlie was also a popular presenter on the BBC1 Holiday programme and co-presented the first three series of BBC Radio 4′s Traveller’s Tree with Fi Glover.
His book Gilbert: The Last Years of WG Grace was shortlisted for the 2016 MCC/Cricket Society Book of the Year. The book he wrote with his friend Bernard Sumner, Chapter And Verse: New Order, Joy Division And Me was shortlisted for Book of the Year at the NME Awards, while his most recent co-writing project, Winner: A Racing Life with the champion jockey AP McCoy is shortlisted for Sports Autobiography of the Year.
The audio version of Attention All Shipping came second in a public vote to find the greatest audiobook of all time organised by Waterstone’s and The Guardian. Romeo and Juliet was third, which Charlie takes as official confirmation that he’s better than Shakespeare.
Charlie Connelly is a bestselling author and award-winning broadcaster. His many books include Attention All Shipping: A Journey Round The Shipping Forecast, In Search of Elvis: A Journey To Find The Man Beneath The Jumpsuit and Our Man In Hibernia: Ireland, The Irish And Me. Three of his books have featured as Radio 4′s Book of the Week read by Martin Freeman, Stephen Mangan and Tom Goodman-Hill. Charlie was also a popular presenter on the BBC1 Holiday programme and co-presented the first three series of BBC Radio 4′s Traveller’s Tree with Fi Glover.
His book Gilbert: The Last Years of WG Grace was shortlisted for the 2016 MCC/Cricket Society Book of the Year. The book he wrote with his friend Bernard Sumner, Chapter And Verse: New Order, Joy Division And Me was shortlisted for Book of the Year at the NME Awards, while his most recent co-writing project, Winner: A Racing Life with the champion jockey AP McCoy is shortlisted for Sports Autobiography of the Year.
The audio version of Attention All Shipping came second in a public vote to find the greatest audiobook of all time organised by Waterstone’s and The Guardian. Romeo and Juliet was third, which Charlie takes as official confirmation that he’s better than Shakespeare.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 21, 2016
As a fourth-generation Irish-American (my great-great grandparents arrived c. 1860), I found the story of tracing his Irish roots fascinating, especially as relates to finding the place his ancestors left behind, realizing that probably they never looked back, so why sentimentalize it? Solid writing, but I skipped two chapters devoted to sports. Agree with others that Attention All Shipping: A Journey Round the Shipping Forecast is a stronger book, and better starting place with the author.
August 19, 2012
I'm afraid Charlie peaked with The Shipping Forecast which is a shame. He had a winning formula and style which he has not repeated since, to my knowledge. I would be relieved to be proved wrong.
January 6, 2019
This is more or less the first nonfiction book I've read since finishing my degree last June, and in some ways it couldn't be more different from the academia I was immersed in at that point. It's funny, relatable, and emotional; I read the whole thing in a day, though admittedly I'm recovering from surgery and sitting around reading is more or less all I feel up for at the moment.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's the kind of book that I needed to read when it was released in 2010, and at the same time, I know for a fact my fourteen year old self wouldn't have appreciated it. I was still mired deep in what Connelly calls the "plastic paddy" phase and what I called "being a massive eireaboo", and didn't yet have the necessary perspective to appreciate what he's saying here. Now, with a sense of perspective, and a much better understanding of Ireland both modern and historical, I could appreciate his approach. And relate to it, too, especially those cringey early years. I enjoyed it as an exploration of what it means to take your romanticised pop culture ideas and dissect them in search of some kind of reality, and how what you find isn't always what you expect.
I confess, while Connelly's writing style is very enjoyable, that his descriptions of hurling don't make me understand it any better. But other than that I didn't really have any complaints about the book (except a brief incorrect statement about Cú Chulainn on p198 that nobody except a medievalist would probably be bothered by). He's doing a talk at a library near to me at the end of February, so I'm tempted to go to that and see if he's as entertaining in person as on paper.
I definitely need to read more nonfiction for fun. I get bogged down in difficult history books, and it's hard to finish them, but if I can find more books like this -- personal while exploring larger geographical and historical ideas -- maybe I'd have an easier time of it. Who knows, I might even learn something.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's the kind of book that I needed to read when it was released in 2010, and at the same time, I know for a fact my fourteen year old self wouldn't have appreciated it. I was still mired deep in what Connelly calls the "plastic paddy" phase and what I called "being a massive eireaboo", and didn't yet have the necessary perspective to appreciate what he's saying here. Now, with a sense of perspective, and a much better understanding of Ireland both modern and historical, I could appreciate his approach. And relate to it, too, especially those cringey early years. I enjoyed it as an exploration of what it means to take your romanticised pop culture ideas and dissect them in search of some kind of reality, and how what you find isn't always what you expect.
I confess, while Connelly's writing style is very enjoyable, that his descriptions of hurling don't make me understand it any better. But other than that I didn't really have any complaints about the book (except a brief incorrect statement about Cú Chulainn on p198 that nobody except a medievalist would probably be bothered by). He's doing a talk at a library near to me at the end of February, so I'm tempted to go to that and see if he's as entertaining in person as on paper.
I definitely need to read more nonfiction for fun. I get bogged down in difficult history books, and it's hard to finish them, but if I can find more books like this -- personal while exploring larger geographical and historical ideas -- maybe I'd have an easier time of it. Who knows, I might even learn something.
August 5, 2016
A decent enough read but one really of two parts...a kind of whimsical humorous tone first in steadily getting a little bleaker towards the end being the story of a man's search of his Irish identity and the journey of need that created it.
it's a story really starting with an exploration of the idea of 'irishness' born of cafferys adverts and theme pubs but ultimately ends up with the reality..the Ireland of the book is starting to face recession which brings the past into focus..a past of emigration when times get hard and new starts are needed.
There's lots of bits on the culture of Ireland to the sports the indigenous language and some interesting historical bits that I will take with me and bore folks with when the need arises.
it's a story really starting with an exploration of the idea of 'irishness' born of cafferys adverts and theme pubs but ultimately ends up with the reality..the Ireland of the book is starting to face recession which brings the past into focus..a past of emigration when times get hard and new starts are needed.
There's lots of bits on the culture of Ireland to the sports the indigenous language and some interesting historical bits that I will take with me and bore folks with when the need arises.
September 26, 2013
Great book, that removes the romanticism that people seem to feel about the Ireland of our forefathers. It is true that what we think Ireland is, and the reality is quite different, and I am sure those of Irish ancestry, current and past, would love this book.
I loved the quote from Charlie's partner, on how it feels to be Irish in Ireland on St Patricks day. It makes sense as common sense usually does.
I loved the quote from Charlie's partner, on how it feels to be Irish in Ireland on St Patricks day. It makes sense as common sense usually does.
January 11, 2024
With what is now a slightly dated feel, this book has the author explore Ireland in 2009 – what it actually means to be Irish, how the boom and bust nature of its economy and prosperity seemed to be changing yet again, how the trees were birthing saintly stumps, and – most importantly – what he could find of the Irish ancestor who left Co Cork for the London docks and a life of penury and hard labour. Here is what it is like to settle into a different country as a young man with a fresh new partner having been born there, what it is like to try and learn the Gaelic of the place, and the sports that run through the blood – and leave the blood flowing, more often than not. I didn't think it was perfect to be reading it so belatedly, but if it had been at all contemporary I wouldn't have denied it four stars.
June 7, 2019
Great book! Connelly not only makes you want to visit Ireland, but does a solid job of telling his unique story of trying to find his ancestors. Connelly voices definitely shines as this is very conversational. It's definitely one of the better travel books I've read, although this is definitely more than that. It really becomes about what it means to belong.
June 1, 2015
To give this review some perspective, I loved Connelly's other books-And Did Those Feet,Bring Me Sunshine and Attention All Shipping were all brilliant pieces of travel writing akin to Bill Bryson at his best.This book while equally captivating somehow lacks the narrative drive of the other works making me wonder if I would have been as in thrall to it had it not been on audio book.That said there is still a lot to love about it and in some moments it captures the spirit of his other work. Yeah the premise, returning to Ireland and tracing his Irish roots, is indulgent and at times it comes off a bit like a cut price version of Who Do You Think You Are but Connelly expands enough on the narrative to offer a wider picture of recent Irish history as well as some great accounts of his preconceived stereotypical Irish views clashing with grim reality. For me the best parts were the bits about hurling and his detailing of the lives of the London Irish, those who left before the boom and who found themselves exiled by economics and pride while those they left behind prospered. In many ways this section captures the inherent tragedy of a people whose fortunes have risen and fallen as uncertainly as the waves that carve away at the shoreline, so many forcibly swept away by the tide to seek their fortune elsewhere their hearts forever captured by the whisper of a distant sea breeze that almost but never quite calls tgem home. Connelly picks his moment and it is a cycnical person who would not feel a lump in their throat at the thought of so many who like his great grandfather found themselves selflessly set adrift so that others could weatger the storm at home. It is not all misty eyed nostalgia though and in the story's denouement Connelly reigns in the emotional manipulation that he could so easily have given in to and offers us instead a real view of the place his ancestors left providing and true insight into how far his journey has taken him away from his teenage faux Irish wistfullness for a land that probably only ever really existed in Caffreys ads and tourist brochures.
October 7, 2011
The book isn’t a typical travel book. Charlie Connelly after fantasizing about an Ireland that he now is highly doubting, moves to Ireland to live with the love of his life (Jude). Finally having decided to settle in the country he had seen himself part of by heart all his adolescent life and beyond, Charlie Connelly realizes where his image of the green Isle seems far off reality. He decides to get to know the country and furthermore his ancestors from the 19th century who had left Ireland for London.
Very entertainingly and fondly he portrays a modern-life Ireland, as well as giving bits and pieces about the country’s history. While trying to dig up his great-great-great-grandfather the reader gets some insight into how to difficult and time-consuming genealogical research is.
Since Connelly wrote a lot about sports previously, there are some chapters with a focus on rugby and football. Though that is partly due to the important and pivotal role the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) is playing in Ireland. At some point it got too detailed for my taste, but all the other chapters made totally up for those slightly dragging bits.
A really nice and interesting chapter is where he gives an introduction to Irish (Irish Gaelic) by writing about his ambitions to learn the language:
“…the equivalent of British ‘STOP’ road signs say ‘tóg go bog é’ which translates as – and I love this – an instruction to ‘take it easy’.”
“I’d never master the language, but I at least felt that I understood it a little and, by extension, understood a little more about the country I call home.”
While travelling cross country and researching for his ancestor who left Ireland in the years of the Great Famine Charlie Connelly educates about Ireland, her people, her history and especially her personality. The reader is taken on an exhilarating and moving journey, whilst learning quite a few interesting and witty facts.
For the hilarious read I give four of five shamrocks!
Very entertainingly and fondly he portrays a modern-life Ireland, as well as giving bits and pieces about the country’s history. While trying to dig up his great-great-great-grandfather the reader gets some insight into how to difficult and time-consuming genealogical research is.
Since Connelly wrote a lot about sports previously, there are some chapters with a focus on rugby and football. Though that is partly due to the important and pivotal role the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) is playing in Ireland. At some point it got too detailed for my taste, but all the other chapters made totally up for those slightly dragging bits.
A really nice and interesting chapter is where he gives an introduction to Irish (Irish Gaelic) by writing about his ambitions to learn the language:
“…the equivalent of British ‘STOP’ road signs say ‘tóg go bog é’ which translates as – and I love this – an instruction to ‘take it easy’.”
“I’d never master the language, but I at least felt that I understood it a little and, by extension, understood a little more about the country I call home.”
While travelling cross country and researching for his ancestor who left Ireland in the years of the Great Famine Charlie Connelly educates about Ireland, her people, her history and especially her personality. The reader is taken on an exhilarating and moving journey, whilst learning quite a few interesting and witty facts.
For the hilarious read I give four of five shamrocks!
July 3, 2011
Charlie Connelly has moved to Dublin to live with his girlfriend, Jude, and becomes obsessed with tracing his irish roots. One of his great-great-great grandfathers, John Connelly, apparently came from Cork, and Connelly goes in search of his elusive ancestor, tracing his story as an immigrant to London in the 1840s, and trying to discover where he actually came from in Ireland.
Genealogy is a curious thing. Considering that Charlie Connelly had thirty-two great-great-great grandparents, why should this particular one be of more importance than the other thirty-one? I felt slightly sorry for the others, spurned by Connelly in his search for the elusive John.
Sometimes I wished that Connelly took more interest in closer generations of his family. He seems to have little interest, for instance, in John Connelly's children, and what happened to them, though I would have liked to know what became of them, and the subsequent generations of the family.
There is a long mournful discussion with a priest on the loneliness of today's Irish immigrants in London, which I found unsatisfactory. Why are they lonely? haven't they got spouses, children, friends, etc? These questions were never asked.
This book is quite interesting, but a bit sombre in tone, and Connelly's obsession over his irish 'roots' got on my nerves after a bit. As far as I am concerned, my 'roots' are in the place I was born and grew up in. I'm rooted forever in the soil of Surrey, and the fact that some of my distant ancestors (for that matter some of my close ancestors) came from different parts makes no difference to me. 'Face it, Connelly, your roots are in south London, get used to it" I wanted to snarl at him by the time I had finished reading it.
Genealogy is a curious thing. Considering that Charlie Connelly had thirty-two great-great-great grandparents, why should this particular one be of more importance than the other thirty-one? I felt slightly sorry for the others, spurned by Connelly in his search for the elusive John.
Sometimes I wished that Connelly took more interest in closer generations of his family. He seems to have little interest, for instance, in John Connelly's children, and what happened to them, though I would have liked to know what became of them, and the subsequent generations of the family.
There is a long mournful discussion with a priest on the loneliness of today's Irish immigrants in London, which I found unsatisfactory. Why are they lonely? haven't they got spouses, children, friends, etc? These questions were never asked.
This book is quite interesting, but a bit sombre in tone, and Connelly's obsession over his irish 'roots' got on my nerves after a bit. As far as I am concerned, my 'roots' are in the place I was born and grew up in. I'm rooted forever in the soil of Surrey, and the fact that some of my distant ancestors (for that matter some of my close ancestors) came from different parts makes no difference to me. 'Face it, Connelly, your roots are in south London, get used to it" I wanted to snarl at him by the time I had finished reading it.
January 14, 2013
having read a few others by Charlie Connelly (particularly noteable: Attention All Shipping, everyone should read that) I was really excited about cracking open this one.
But... well, it started well but it's not like his others (in that he's not going somewhere to investigate something) but recounting his move to Dublin in combination with the search for his Irish ancestors who came to London in the mid-19th Century.
That is not to say that i didn't enjoy the first half of the book because I did. I have a lot of Irish friends and it's always nice to read about where they come from because I've only ever been to Limerick.
But there is way too much about hurling (some about hurling is great, I have no idea about the sport and the first descriptions are fantastic, about how it is a huge part of the national identity etc). But I don't think that it needed a few chapters dedicated to what felt like a blow by blow account of 2 finals. I'm afraid I just started flicking over those pages then my momentum was lost and I started flicking through the later pages about finding out where his great great great grandfather came from.
For me it ended the book on a low note and I was glad to flick the last page and put it aside.
But... well, it started well but it's not like his others (in that he's not going somewhere to investigate something) but recounting his move to Dublin in combination with the search for his Irish ancestors who came to London in the mid-19th Century.
That is not to say that i didn't enjoy the first half of the book because I did. I have a lot of Irish friends and it's always nice to read about where they come from because I've only ever been to Limerick.
But there is way too much about hurling (some about hurling is great, I have no idea about the sport and the first descriptions are fantastic, about how it is a huge part of the national identity etc). But I don't think that it needed a few chapters dedicated to what felt like a blow by blow account of 2 finals. I'm afraid I just started flicking over those pages then my momentum was lost and I started flicking through the later pages about finding out where his great great great grandfather came from.
For me it ended the book on a low note and I was glad to flick the last page and put it aside.
March 19, 2016
The likelihood that this book will be compared to a Bill Bryson book is probably inevitable. There certainly are similarities but I found the writer to be a little less smug than Bryson tends to be at times. Irish history is certainly fascinating if not particularly comfortable and the writer does a good job at weaving the facts in with his own personal history. I always get a little concerned with the throwing around of stats. Just who works these out? And on what basis etc. Anyway, I digress. It was a fun read with seemingly effortless humour and I can recommend to the normal crew.
October 24, 2016
The first half of the book is better than the second half. I skipped the description of sports games. I found the author's quest to find his Irish ancestor interesting but his discussion of it very repetitive.
April 25, 2011
Probably more interesting if you're not Irish and he gets a lot wrong, but very enjoyable and definitely recommend it.
November 6, 2012
If you've been to Ireland like me (briefly, and only in Dublin), this book is a great way to learn a little more. Without some background I think it might drag a bit.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews