An essential read for anyone interested in Ireland as it was – and in the exciting new country that emerged in the 21st Century.

Michael D. Higgins is one of the most brilliant and influential voices in Irish culture and political life over the past 40 years. He was elected President of Ireland in 2011 and again, in 2018. During his ten years on the frontline with Hot Press, the future President wrote passionately about many of the most important issues affecting Ireland – and the world at large. It was visionary, sometimes emotional, often provocative, egalitarian stuff that pulled no punches.

This collection, featuring a carefully chosen selection of his powerful work for Hot Press, is packed with penetrating insights and wonderfully vivid writing – on women’s liberation, Gaza, US foreign policy, war and peace in Africa, the democratic deficit, sustainability and LGBTQI+ rights. Way ahead of its time in so many ways – and often very funny – it made radical and inspiring reading then. Even more so now, as it underlines the exhilarating reality that it really is possible to make positive changes, even in the most monolithic, conservative societies.