SWEET LIBERTY
Travels in Irish America
Joseph O’Connor’s interest in American history led to an extraordinary tour of the United States to visit the nine different towns called Dublin, as well as some of the great cities and tiny hamlets in between. Beginning in Boston, he visits the Dublins of New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia and Texas, Las Vegas and California – to name a few. Interspersed with his travels are vivid accounts of the Irish immigrant experience and a rich exploration of the intertwined roots of American music, from Irish ballads to jazz, country, blues and gospel. Sweet Liberty is a hilarious, poignant and unforgettable coast-to-coast tour which celebrates the breathtaking diversity of the Irish influence on America – and discovers along the way a town called Dublin that does not have one single pub within its limits.
*****
“One is reminded of vintage Bill Bryson.”
The Scotsman
“A fabulously droll, unsentimental, and craic-laden report on the haunts of the Gael taking in a wide range of political and historical references along the way.”
The Glasgow Herald
*****
