Just Mary

Although they have become more frequent in recent years, Irish political memoirs are still relatively rare. Even rarer still are political memoirs that still are frank, newsworthy and fun, like this one from Mary O'Rourke. She writes of personal and political events; of her family background and her early involvement in politics: of the many senior political figures to whom she was close, especially Charles Haughey and Bertie Ahern; of her two beloved Brians, her brother and nephew, both of whom died before their time; of her successes and disappointments. She does all this with honesty, energy and a complete absence of self-pity or self-justification. Mary O'Rourke has been one of the most successful and influential women in Irish public life in a generation. She has stories to tell that will surprise and amuse, as well as recalling moments of personal and political sadness. The book is like the woman herself: open, warm and shrewd.