Sean Lemass: Democratic Dictator

By Bryce Evans

Seán Lemass enjoys unrivalled acclaim as the ‘Architect of Modern Ireland’. Yet there remain great gaps in our knowledge of this mythic figure and his golden age. Up to now Lemass, a colossus of twentieth-century Irish history, was airbrushed to fit a narrative of national progress. Today, this narrative is undergoing an agonising reappraisal. This groundbreaking study reveals the man behind the myth and asks questions previously skirted around. What emerges is an authoritarian, cunning, workaholic patriot; a shrewd political tactician whose impatience lay not just with the old Ireland, but with democracy itself. This is the untold story of a great man and his lasting impact on a nation’s imagination.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Collins Press
• Release date: Aug 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781848899414

Reviews for Sean Lemass

[thegeneral_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book is well written and argued and gives a new perspective on Seán Lemass as a politician. I would argue, however, that the author is overtly critical of his muse for various policy decisions and that some of this can be attributed to the author's own political allegiances to People Before Profit, a party not friendly to Fianna Fáil. He is unnecessarily harsh regarding Lemass’ revolutionary past and, in particular, the death of his brother Noel. The sub-title to Chapter 2 “How far a martyred brother can get you,” is somewhat tasteless in my view. Lemass did not ride his brother’s corpse to political success, he was nominated as a Sinn Féin candidate without his knowledge following the discovery of Noel’s body but this was the decision of Sinn Féin colleagues not him. As he advanced further within that party is a testament to his perceived lucidity and intellect. In his analysis of Lemass’ career as a Minister and then Taoiseach in Fianna Fáil he does add in some new material missing from older biographies. He does add some new ideas throughout the book including Lemass’ failure to build up a merchant shipping fleet during the 1930s or invest in road infrastructure in his Ministry in the years before WW2 started. The book is worth reading and it is useful to have someone who has set out to create a very critical work from the outset but in my view he may have gone a bit too far. There is a good bibliography but I would argue that there is too much reference made to Garvin at the expense of John Horgan’s biography, the main work to date in this area.