Derek Scally

An extraordinary story ... At once intimate and epic, this is a landmark book

A great achievement ... brilliant, engaging and essential

An engaging and incisive book that asks what keeping the faith cost us, how it shaped us and what it means now

Remarkable ... [Scally] examines the past with disarming honesty and a sense of compassion. His book is essential reading for anyone concerned about history and forgetting

Offers some challenging end-of-an-era reflections on being Catholic in the scandal-ridden church of contemporary Ireland

Absolutely thrilling. A wonderful blend of personal story, journalism and history - it goes to unexpected places and asks questions we don't usually consider

Accessible, original, thought-provoking and very engaging

Reflective, textured, insightful and original ... rich with history, interrogation and emotional intelligence

A highly intelligent, patriotic work

The Irish, the Church and the End of a Special Relationship

When Berlin-based journalist Derek Scally visited Christmas Vigil Mass in his hometown of Dublin, he found that like its congregants, the once-packed suburban church where he was an altar boy was quiet and slowly ageing. A collective identity lost, the dwindling power of the Church in Ireland was undeniable. 
 
The Best Catholics in the World is Scally's response - an empathetic and engaging voyage into the story of Irish Catholicism. Researched over three years, and including dozens of interviews conducted in Ireland and further afield, The Best Catholics in the World is a lively, original, moving and thought-provoking account of a country grappling with its troubling past and confusing present.

The Best Catholics in the World

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Derek Scally

Praise for The Best Catholics in the World

An extraordinary story ... At once intimate and epic, this is a landmark book

A great achievement ... brilliant, engaging and essential

An engaging and incisive book that asks what keeping the faith cost us, how it shaped us and what it means now

An extraordinary story ... At once intimate and epic, this is a landmark book

A great achievement ... brilliant, engaging and essential

An engaging and incisive book that asks what keeping the faith cost us, how it shaped us and what it means now

An extraordinary story ... At once intimate and epic, this is a landmark book

A great achievement ... brilliant, engaging and essential

An engaging and incisive book that asks what keeping the faith cost us, how it shaped us and what it means now

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