What do you think?
Rate this book
Truly Frank: A Dublin Memoir
Passionate, gossipy, opinionated and seriously entertaining, Truly Frank is an instant classic of journalistic memoir.
Journalist Frank McDonald is best known as, in the words of Bob Geldof, 'a permanent thorn in the fat arse of municipal pretension'. The scourge of negligent planners, unscrupulous property developers and cynical politicians, and champion of environmental protection and sustainable development, McDonald's work in the Irish Times has been key to grasping how Ireland actually works.
McDonald's sense of mission grew out of an endlessly enquiring mind. After a happy 1950s childhood in a conventional Catholic home he ventured forth - into Dublin's hidden gay scene, into student politics at UCD, into the worlds of journalism, architecture and Ireland's beau monde, into a life of travel - always in a spirit of openness and unmitigated curiosity. The rewards in friendship, knowledge and understanding have been immeasurable.
Now, in Truly Frank, McDonald tells the stories behind his public and private lives - his long and fruitful career, his activism and legendary battles, his deep ties to family and friends, his four-decade partnership with his spouse Eamon Slater.
'Although, as a journalist, I have never shied away from revealing what I believe to be true, revisiting my life and times has been as challenging as it has been therapeutic and even enjoyable ...'
Journalist Frank McDonald is best known as, in the words of Bob Geldof, 'a permanent thorn in the fat arse of municipal pretension'. The scourge of negligent planners, unscrupulous property developers and cynical politicians, and champion of environmental protection and sustainable development, McDonald's work in the Irish Times has been key to grasping how Ireland actually works.
McDonald's sense of mission grew out of an endlessly enquiring mind. After a happy 1950s childhood in a conventional Catholic home he ventured forth - into Dublin's hidden gay scene, into student politics at UCD, into the worlds of journalism, architecture and Ireland's beau monde, into a life of travel - always in a spirit of openness and unmitigated curiosity. The rewards in friendship, knowledge and understanding have been immeasurable.
Now, in Truly Frank, McDonald tells the stories behind his public and private lives - his long and fruitful career, his activism and legendary battles, his deep ties to family and friends, his four-decade partnership with his spouse Eamon Slater.
'Although, as a journalist, I have never shied away from revealing what I believe to be true, revisiting my life and times has been as challenging as it has been therapeutic and even enjoyable ...'
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 25, 2018
3 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 23, 2019
It's good, but it's not great would be my reaction. I lived through most of the times that the author chronicles in the book, and evidently he has lots of material to work with. But somehow this failed to grab my attention. I think it could have been better if there had been more proposals about how a modern city could be developed intelligently to embrace the old, and yet recognise the era that we live in and develop as well. Yes it might get preachy, but I think it could have served to intersperse the personal anecdotes. In fairness, I know the author has written books on this (albeit I have not read them) so that is a defence of sorts.
It seems to me that as a book it's very diary-driven. I could not have taken many more 'and then we had lunch at XXX' anecdotes. I suppose also that the laws of libel preclude comment on some of the events that the author undoubtedly observed during his tenure in the Irish Times. So it's a decent read, a sort of modern history of Dublin, but I expected a bit more.
It seems to me that as a book it's very diary-driven. I could not have taken many more 'and then we had lunch at XXX' anecdotes. I suppose also that the laws of libel preclude comment on some of the events that the author undoubtedly observed during his tenure in the Irish Times. So it's a decent read, a sort of modern history of Dublin, but I expected a bit more.
October 4, 2021
A sweeping account of Dublin's recent history with hundreds of opportunities for Wikipedia-driven rabbit holes for the uninitiated. I enjoyed reading this mix of a personal account, architecture, planning controversies; the book doesn't specifically elaborate on any of these facets, but it excels at evoking a feeling of what it must have been to live, work and grow in Dublin during the second half of the 20th century.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews