Tom Phelan had just turned fifty when his first novel, In the Season of the Daisies, was accepted for publication. Since then, Phelan has written five other novels: Iscariot, Derrycloney, The Canal Bridge, Nailer, and Lies the Mushroom Pickers Told. Born and reared in Ireland, he now lives in New York.
"You don't have to be Irish to cherish this literary gift—just
being human and curious and from a family will
suffice." –Malachy McCourt, New York Times bestselling author
of A Monk Swimming
"Other works have been situated at the same intersection of time
and place, but rarely has the tale been told with such a charming
simplicity of voice plus a vividness that fully captures the
distinctive sound and pulse of Irish life." –Billy Collins
"Phelan's prose has an unpretentious beauty as he describes the
farm, its routine and the people he remembers... With rich detail
and sensitivity, We Were Rich translates for us a rural world
that has disappeared. And to assist townies like me, he appends a
glossary." –Star Tribune
"Plain, honest, funny, occasionally sad and rich in material
detail, this wonderful memoir […] is the real
thing." –Newsday
"A tender recollection of growing up on a farm in Ireland in the
1940s... a captivating portrait of a bygone
time." –Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"[A] series of tender and earnest anecdotes of coming-of-age in the
rural Irish midlands of the 1940s… Phelan’s vivid images of his
life on the farm and at school provide a rich and colorful snapshot
of the times that shaped him." –Publishers Weekly
"An evocative memoir with echoes of Frank
McCourt." –Newsday
"This might seem like a grim childhood, and to be sure at times it
was, but Phelan also draws on the small victories, the love of the
land and of family. At a time when we have so much and are
satisfied with none of it, Phelan’s story is one of grace and
beauty." –CAYOCOSTA72
"In this very interesting memoir, we are drawn into a strange world
from another time. One would love to sit down with the characters
that are described in scintillating detail..." –Irish Echo
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