How a Small Group of Property Developers Fuelled the Building Boom and Transformed Ireland

The Builders

In the past fifteen years, Ireland has gone from being one of the poorest countries in the EU to one of the richest in the world. Of all the factors in this extraordinary transformation, none has been more prominent than the astonishing boom in construction. In The Builders, Frank McDonald and Kathy Sheridan tell the stories of these men and of the changes - physical and psychological - they have brought about. The story of Ireland's property developers has been the great untold story of the boom - until now. 
 
'Essential reading' Sunday Business Post

Frank McDonald is Environment Editor of the Irish Times and author of books including The Destruction of Dublin and The Construction of Dublin. Kathy Sheridan is an Irish Times staff journalist.

In the past fifteen years, Ireland has gone from being one of the poorest countries in the EU to one of the richest in the world. Of all the factors in this extraordinary transformation, none has been more prominent than the astonishing boom in construction. In The Builders, Frank McDonald and Kathy Sheridan tell the stories of these men and of the changes - physical and psychological - they have brought about. The story of Ireland's property developers has been the great untold story of the boom - until now.

Frank McDonald

A wonderfully indiscreet romp ... without doubt, it's the memoir of the year

A memoir not just of a fascinating life, but of a fascinating city

There's gossip, a delicious sense of indiscretion and an acutely observed bitchiness

A Dublin Memoir

In his decades-long career at the Irish Times, Frank McDonald became uniquely beloved and influential for his tireless attention to Dublin's built environment. He was, meanwhile, living a remarkably varied and interesting life. In Truly Frank, McDonald tells the stories behind his public advocacy for a more beautiful and humane city, and of his battles (and lunches) with politicians and developers. And he also tells a more intimate story of growing up gay in Dublin at a time when homosexuality was entirely hidden. Passionate, indiscreet and seriously entertaining, Truly Frank is an instant classic of journalistic memoir.

Frank McDonald

Praise for Truly Frank

A wonderfully indiscreet romp ... without doubt, it's the memoir of the year

A memoir not just of a fascinating life, but of a fascinating city

There's gossip, a delicious sense of indiscretion and an acutely observed bitchiness

A wonderfully indiscreet romp ... without doubt, it's the memoir of the year

A memoir not just of a fascinating life, but of a fascinating city

There's gossip, a delicious sense of indiscretion and an acutely observed bitchiness

A wonderfully indiscreet romp ... without doubt, it's the memoir of the year

A memoir not just of a fascinating life, but of a fascinating city

There's gossip, a delicious sense of indiscretion and an acutely observed bitchiness

Books by Frank McDonald

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