The Devil's Own Luck: An Irish Story (The Tipperary Trilogy) (Volume 3)

Mid-eighteenth century Ireland is in turmoil. The Catholic Church, the country s single unifying force, has been torn asunder, gutted by the Penal Laws imposed upon it by the invading regime. Corruption is rife. Violence erupts spontaneously. Ireland s people have lost their way, their country has lost its conscience and is now in grave danger of losing its soul. The traditions which have been the backbone of the land for centuries are being discarded and abandoned. In this, the third and final book in the Tipperary Trilogy, we find the rural community of Gortalocca in its death throes. Hogan s, the village store and bar, has closed its doors Roisin s eldest son, Robbie, having finally run the family business into the ground. Work is almost impossible to find. Roisin s younger son, Mikey, and his life-long friend Jamie Clancy, struggle to feed their families. To add to the despair, a devastating fire sweeps through, destroying their blacksmith shop and what was left of Hogan s. Possible salvation comes in a strange guise. Out of the distant past, a mysterious man arrives from America, along with his son and a black slave. This man is to offer deliverance to Gortalocca but the village will have to pay dearly for it.