Forty Four : A Dublin Memoir

by Peter Sheridan

Snow is falling all over Dublin. It is half an hour to the start of the New Year. On the rooftop of 44 Seville Place, a 10-year-old boy clings to a television aerial. His father urges him to turn the aerial towards England. The boy reaches up and in that moment, pictures from a foreign place beam into their home and change their lives forever. Thus begins this astonishing portrait of a Dublin family as they chart their way through the turbulent waters of the l960s. We exult in their triumphs and cry at their disasters, but at no time is laughter far from the surface. As Peter Sheridan follows his journey from boy to man, he reveals the confused adolescent in us all and shows us an individual and a society on the cusp of profound change. `A brilliantly realised, almost novelistic, portrait of an urban working-class Irish childhood... remarkably honest, involving, compassionate` Scotsman `A beautiful, touching, bittersweet account of inner-family life...A lively, turbulent and huge tale painted in vivid colour on a very simple canvas. I`m glad to have read it and so will you be.` Malachy McCourt, Observer

Genres: Nonfiction, Ireland, Biography, Irish Literature, Memoir, Autobiography, History

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

It`s a wonderful book. Its simply a small section of someone`s life, only 12 years of it. This book is about a perfectly normal family struggling through her days and trying to face the obstacles and get through them. The characters are so familiar,you can easily connect your family members, friend and even teachers to them, at least that`s what happened with me. You will find the young innocent children who make your life worth while and usually drive you cray. These children carry many responsibilities at a very young age due to the family conditions. You`ll also find the strong rebellious yet very kind mother, the philosophical and stubborn father whose character changes throughout the years. And the son - who is our narrator/author - trying to understand God and the members of his family. He is mostly an observer, part time rebel and part time thinker(these treats taken from his parents). He usually takes his mother`s side trying to force some justice in his parents relationship. He used to idealize his father for his opinionated character and infectious feelings but as he hates his father for his anger and ego and finally he took him as a friend after the change is his father`s character. Its a symphony of life.

[JimZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this memoir. Back of book jacket has rave reviews from Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes), Sebastian Barry (The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty [which I also loved]), and Roddy Doyle (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha). Can't get much better than that!

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Sheridanin "Nuoruuteni Dublin" (WSOY, 2000) on vahvasti omaelämäkerrallinen romaani (tai saattaapa se olla muistelmateoskin, mene ja tiedä) nuoren pojan varttumisesta aikuiseksi 1960-luvun Irlannissa. Sheridan kuvaa varsin tenhoavasti monilapsisen perheen iloja ja suruja, unohtamatta sen enempää the Beatlesin Sgt. Pepper -levyn tai teatterikärpäsen puraisun aikaan saamaa järisyttävää tunnetta.

En säilytä kirjaa kotikirjastossani, mutta olen iloinen, että hankin sen joskus muutamalla eurolla kirpputorilta.

[Harold Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought at a flea market. Well worth the loonie.

[Brian Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant and heart-warming book.

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite book by an Irish author (to date!). Peter Sheridan is a master storyteller. I could not put this book down! It was humorous, sad, sweet and enthralling. I found it particularly pertinent because when I read it I was preparing to move to Ireland, so maybe it was just me... but really anyone who likes stories about families and the struggles we go through to remain close would find this a worthwhile read.

Note: I found this book crammed into a shelf in a tiny used bookshop in Charlottesville, VA. I had never heard of the book and I am so glad I took a gamble and bought it!

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a few things I didn't know about Dublin before. This is Peter Sheridans childhood story, telling of him and his family, their lodgers, school and the city they live in. It was fun to read about Dublin in the sixties straight after Angela's Ashes, which is in Limerick in the fifties. It was also a bad thing to read it after Angela's Ashes, because it really doesn't compare. Still, I really liked it and found it funny and even moving at times. Can be recommended.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though not as well-known outside Ireland as his brother, film director Jim Sheridan, this memoir of growing up in the 1960s in a Dublin tenement is at times funny and reminiscent of Roddy Doyle, and at other times heartbreaking, as when he tells of the death of his younger brother Frankie from a brain tumor. Great read for lovers of Dublin or those curious about the spirit of that great city.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was hard work finishing this book but Im glad I did. Got better but I found most of it boring. There must have been at least a chapter dedicated to reading about their twin tub purchase. Definitely not as good as Angela’s Ashes but still as honest and raw.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this memoir as I couldn't shake the feeling that it seemed familiar. I enjoyed the family interaction but the Da kept reminding me of Mr. Rabbitt in Roddy Doyle's “Barrytown Trilogy”. I am not saying Da Sheridan was not authentic - possibly Dublin Das are similar in many ways- but it wasn’t until the final chapters of the book that he became more than a pastiche . The other strange thing was the complete lack of discussion of Peter's secondary school experiences, as it is not mentioned even in passing. Those highly formative years with the growth experiences are absent. The band episodes again –especially the parish hall- immediately brough to mind Doyle's “The Commitments”.
I was shocked in one particular episode when the trip by bike to the local bookies entailed a series of bets of nearly three pounds. Really...? In contrast he mentions that the lodgers were necessary and required for the educational fund for the kids. Three pounds in early 1960s wasn't an insignificant amount of money. With the average wage at that time about nine pounds a week, with C.I.E. not the top of the range in salary a bet of three pounds could easily represent half of a weekly wage packet. That Peter Sheridan would make no comment other than as comic relief of this scale of gambling, even in retrospect, is strange. He obviously admired his Da but criticizes him throughout for his many flaws but not for this? Lodgers (including a molester) stacked like firewood in the bedrooms to pay family school fees and his Da gambling hard earned money like a fool? Very strange!
Too harsh? I come to this perspective as I am the same age as Peter Sheridan, I was born and raised in the North Strand, a quarter of a mile from 44, Seville Place, I was baptised at St. Laurence O’Toole Church. My Da a C.I.E. employee like Peter's Da liked a flutter on the horses, but it was just a shilling each way or maybe 2/6 if it was the Grand National or Derby....that's why three pound in a single bet is a stretch in credibility, well at least worthy of a comment by the author. I enjoyed his stories and the familiar Dublin geography. But as a friend once said we as Dubliners are born with a gift of dissernment in that we can smell “bullshite” from a fair distance. In this case I enjoyed the read but with a fairly constant whiff of something!!

[Ann Branch]

Interesting biography of Peter Sheridan growing up in Dublin during the 1960’s. I suspect it is very true to Irish culture during that timeframe for a young boy. He had some very unusual memories and writing style. His story seems very authentic!

The early Da seemed very stereotypical of Irish men as a demanding husband that drank frequently and thought he had all the answers. Ma was the “rock” of the family ending up with 7 children ( only one daughter). Peter was a good student but had a friend, Andy, who was not and this discrepancy caused some situations in their childhoods and later, distance, in their relationship.

Da changed late in the book after Frankie’s death and became a less crazy, more stable, character. Maybe Peter found his passion too in the arts - music (guitar) and theater.

[Chelsea Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you liked Angela's Ashes or 'Tis by Frank McCourt, you will love this. It has all the old Dublin vibes that make you feel transported right into 1960's Ireland. The dialogue format is confusing at first but becomes easy to read really quickly.

Highly recommend for anyone into Irish memoirs.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, funny book about the author's coming of age in 1960's Dublin that is well written and strikes true in so many ways. All the characters from his best friend to the lodgers to his ma and da are original and touching. Life-enhancing and da is an unforgettable character. It should be more famous.

[David Gagen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this beautifully written memoir, of a teen in Dublin in the 60s. Especially moving is the relationship between the author and his father which is at the heart of this wonderful book.

[Eileen N · Rating 3 out of 5]

sad

[Linda Pincus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

[Marie Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoals alleen Ieren kunnen vertellen...

[Molly Fiddler · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars.

[Susan Dunker · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent memoir about growing up in Ireland in the 50s and 60s.

[Annesusan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een kijkje van 10 jaar in een Iers gezin. het was niet makkelijk in die tijd, moet ik concluderen. aangenaam om te lezen!

[Nancy Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Peter Sheridan's life in Dublin during the '50s and '60s...sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and sometimes overshadowed by his Da! Having read the "sequel" to it first, this one was easier to get into than the other and makes the other one more understandable. Both are worthy reads, but best to read this one first.

[Ed Mallari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I randomly picked this book up in a little discount bookstore in Manila, Philippines almost a decade ago, it was my first "memoir" and I truly enjoyed it. Personally, being naturally close to my family, it was easy for me to relate to its characters. It necessarily does not paint a beautiful picture but that is what I found most appealing.

[Adrian]

Title of the book I read was 44 A Dublin Memoir. Dramatist Sheridan recounts his boyhood in Dublin from the late 1950s and 1960s. Hilarious, wise, sad. It slyly reveals a lot of what makes up the Irish complex by showing how sex, violence, religion and music effect all. His huge riotous family and all the people who stop in at 44 are maddening fun. Well worth the read.

[Terrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story of a boy growing up in Dublin in the 50's and 60's. It was kind of refreshing to read a memoir of an Irish childhood in which the father is not a good-for-nothing drunk. In fact, Peter Sheridan's father kept reminding me of John Galbraith, the father in Cheaper by the Dozen.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir of Irish playwright Peter Sheridan (brother of director Jim Sheridan) is an ode to 1960s Dublin and the strength of family bonds. Its style and wit are perfect examples of the storytelling and humour that Ireland is known for.

[Cat. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Angela's Ashes, but also less dire. The father isn't a drunk, and he has a regular job. Still it's a great story about growing up in not-perfect circumstances. The mental picture in my head of young Peter on the roof with the aerial at age 8 is a scream.

[Kelly Fitzgibbons · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir set in the 1960's in Dublin, Ireland. The relationship between father and son is a source of frustration, bewilderment and love. Sneak peek at Christian Brothers schooling, the Sgt Pepper album release and the opening of your home to lodgers - for better or worse. Good read.

[Marja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Sheridan was unfamiliar for me when I started this book but after somewhat slow start I really enjoyed his memoir of growing up in Dublin in 1960's. I felt their ups and downs and was sad to let them go.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just another Angela's Ashes. Peter Sheridan is a terrific writer.

[Kelly O'connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected something of the calibre of Nuala O'Faiolain or Frank McCourt but was unpleasantly surprised to find that Peter Sheridan is neither