Crisis and comeback: Cork in the eighties

How does a city survive its worst recession in living memory?

Cork entered the 1980s with swagger. The 1970s had been dominated nationally by the city's favourite son, Jack Lynch, who was Taoiseach for much of the decade.

There was a stability to the city, anchored by the institutions from which it drew its identity: the university, the Murphy's and Beamish breweries, the English Market, and large industrial employers such as Ford, Dunlop and Verolme.

But by the middle of the 1980s, the city had been plunged into chaos.

Drawing on extensive interviews with politicians, workers, writers and industrialists, Michael Moynihan weaves a sweeping tapestry of the city at a critical juncture.

In a rich narrative, he tells the compelling story of how Cork's eventual status as a high-tech hub was won.