Mick Clifford: A critical look at Ireland past and present

Charles Haughey: He wanted extraordinary wealth, but he also wanted a life in politics, serving, as he saw it, the people. His ultimate tragedy was that he thought he could have both and get away with it. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

THREE books published in the last year provide major insights into the evolution of this country, two of which have huge resonance moving into the new year. One was about the birth of the State, another concerned the life of one of the major figures to dominate public life, and the third was a glance at where we are now.

Diarmuid Ferriter’s tome on the civil war, Between Two Hells, is a comprehensive study of the conflict that arose from the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921. It is an arresting read, filled with brave and principled individuals, but overlain with horrendous tragedy and the bitter fall-out from the conflict.