“In 1990, a struggling nation found its confidence, with a half-decent football team at the core. But it wasn’t simple. The Byrne family reflects the journey we were all on. This book is a wonderful opportunuty to step back into those changing times. Expect joy and a few tears too.”
NIALL QUINN, FORMER IRELAND INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALLER
It was the summer we learned to believe. In ourselves, in each other – and in what Ireland could be.
From the coal-scented streets of 1950s Dublin to the fevered roar of Italia ’90, This Is Ourselves, Under Pressure follows the Byrne family as they navigate a nation on the cusp of transformation. Jimmy and Joan come of age in a country caught between the comfort of old certainities and the excitement of new abiitions. But as their love deepens and their family grows, the values that shaped them collide with the realities of modern life. Faith is questioned. Loyalties are tested. Football becomes more than a game.
By the time the nation holds its breath in the summer of 1990, the Byrnes – and the country around them – have learned to look forward, not back.
Heartfelt, sweeping and sharply observed, this is the storyof how one ordinary family reflects an extraordinary national journey – from survival to hope, from silence to song.