James Ryan and the Development of Independent Ireland, 1892-1970

Michael Loughman

“By any standards, this is a remarkable book on the life of a remarkable man ... James Ryan was the longest serving Minister for Agriculture in the history of the State but also Minister for Health and Social Welfare and lastly Minister for Finance during the pivotal late 1950s and early 1960s. In all his portfolios, he left a legacy of constructive policy development which is detailed in the meticulous research that has gone into this book … James Ryan did not contest the 1965 election but was nominated to the Senate by Sean Lemass.  He died suddenly in 1970, just a year after ending his term in the Senate. It is remarkable that such a key figure over such a long period is so little known or his enormous contribution to the development of modern Ireland so little appreciated. This book has ably filled a vacuum.” Matt Dempsey, the Irish Catholic

"The greatest Taoiseach that never was. This New book explores the extraordinary life and career of James Ryan. [It is] A major new study of the Wexford revolutionary and Fianna Fáil founding figure explores how one of the State’s most influential ministers helped shape modern Ireland." Cillian Boggan, Wexford People