Buck Whaley: Ireland’s Greatest Adventurer

by David Ryan

Thomas ‘Buck’ Whaley was one of the greatest adventurers in Irish history. In 1788 he made an extraordinary 10-month journey from Dublin to Jerusalem for a wager of £15,000, equivalent to several million today. During his journey he nearly shipwrecked in the Sea of Crete, almost died of plague in Constantinople, and met an infamous Ottoman governor known as ‘the Butcher.’ On his return, he became an overnight celebrity before suffering a catastrophic series of gambling losses that exiled him first to continental Europe (where he attempted to rescue Louis XVI from the guillotine) and then to the Isle of Man. When he died aged 34 in 1800 he had squandered an astronomical £400,000 (around €100 million) ‘without ever purchasing or acquiring contentment or one hour’s true happiness.’ Buck Whaley tells the full story of his remarkable life and adventures for the first time.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

272 pages, Paperback

Published March 18, 2019

About the author

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Reviews

[David Hickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the author states at the end, history needs characters like this to bring an era to life. Buck Whaley does that with some considerable style and through some considerable failures. This book is a fantastic read. It's so refreshing to get a little glimpse at some of the defining events of the era through a different lense.

[Cathal Dowd Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy and enjoyable read through the historical landscape of the Levant and Jerusalem and 18th century Dublin. Though so!times prone to hyperbole the author gives an enthralling narrative based on sound and uncomplicated research

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

We'll researched, but reads like a historian's thesis for his PHD.