‘Haughey’ author turns his attention to Cowen

The author of a bestselling biography of Charlie Haughey has turned his attention to another former Fianna Fáil Taoiseach, Brian Cowen.

Gary Murphy, professor of politics at Dublin City University, announced this week that his next book will focus on the retired Offaly politician and will be entitled, Brian Cowen - Anatomy of a Taoiseach.

The 400-page hardback is being published by Eriu books and is due for release on September 17.

Murphy's book Haughey, published in November 2020, was a 700-page epic which received critical acclaim and featured on the Irish bestseller charts.

In a social media post this week, the author said his book on Mr Cowen had been "a few years in the making" and would cover topics ranging "from Clara to the Troika, from the GAA to the bank guarantee, and much else besides".

A description of the book from the publisher describes it as "an insightful, searing and clear-eyed account of Taoiseach Brian Cowen and his time as leader of the country during Ireland's greatest crisis".

It goes on to say that the book offers a "richly textured account" of Mr Cowen's "inexorable rise to the office of Taoiseach and his dramatic fall," and that it would present "a ground-breaking portrait" of the man.

"This rigorously researched study examines the decisions, pressures and circumstances that shaped Brian Cowen's 1,036 days as Taoiseach, a period that coincided with the collapse of Ireland's banking system and the state's entry into an EU-IMF programme," stated the publisher.

"Drawing on extensive interviews, documentation and contemporaneous accounts, Murphy explores the context surrounding the bank guarantee, the loss of economic autonomy and the path that led to external intervention.

"Balanced, detailed and accessible, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of how government, institutions and global forces interacted during a crisis that transformed modern Ireland."

The book is currently available for pre-order, priced €22.99.