"You don't have to be Irish to cherish this literary giftâjust being human and curious and from a family will suffice." âMalachy McCourt, New York Times bestselling author of A Monk Swimming In the tradition of Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes and Alice Taylor's To School Through the Fields, Tom Phelan's We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It is a heartfelt and masterfully written memoir of growing up in Ireland in the 1940s. Tom Phelan, who was born and raised in County Laois in the Irish midlands, spent his formative years working with his wise and demanding father as he sought to wrest a livelihood from a farm that was often wet, muddy, and back-breaking.It was a time before rural electrification, the telephone, and indoor plumbing; a time when the main modes of travel were bicycle and animal cart; a time when small farmers struggled to survive and turkey eggs were hatched in the kitchen cupboard; a time when the Church exerted enormous control over Ireland. We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It recounts Tom's upbringing in an isolated, rural community from the day he was delivered by the local midwife. With tears and laughter, it speaks to the strength of the human spirit in the face of life's adversities.
- 224 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Dedication
- Authorâs Note
- 1. JohnJoeâs Clever Plan
- 2. JohnJoe Gets a Wife
- 3. The Jubilee Nurse
- 4. In the Farmhouse Kitchen
- 5. The Turkey in the Cupboard
- 6. Love Writ Shyly
- 7. My Fifty-Two-Acre Playground
- 8. The Lovely Church
- 9. Praying for the Dead4
- 10. The Storyteller
- 11. The Road to School
- 12. First Babies
- 13. The Penny Catechism
- 14. Scary Surprise from the Dark Continent
- 15. The Red Motorcar
- 16. To School with Uncle Jack and Red
- 17. Altar Boy Days
- 18. The Recruiter
- 19. Blessed Oliver
- 20. The Sweet Paper
- 21. Sheriff Johnnyâs Gun
- 22. My Boxing Career
- 23. Tyranny of the Irish Weather
- 24. De Valera and Dadâs Turnips
- 25. Early Morning Cattle Drive
- 26. The Early Lives of Piglets
- 27. Horses
- 28. The Forge
- 29. Whiteface and the Stallion
- 30. The Bull on the Farm
- 31. Accident Near Tullamore
- 32. Isaacâs Tree
- 33. Burning Bushes
- 34. We Were Rich and We Didnât Know It
- 35. The Rambler
- 36. Luckless Lar
- 37. The Man Who Knew Everything
- 38. Wasted on the Bog Air
- 39. Jimser Scott
- 40. Billy
- 41. Flying the Nest
- Epilogue
- Glossary
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Copyright
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Yes, you can access We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It by Tom Phelan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Literary Biographies. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.