Remembering How We Stood

Edna O'Brien chose John Ryan's memoirs as her Observer Book of the Year in 1975, describing it as 'a fine and loving account of literary Dublin in the golden fifties, which purrs with life and anecdote'. This classic evocation of the period 1945-55 celebrates a city and its personalities – Brendan Behan, Patrick Kavanagh, Myles na gCopaleen (Flann O'Brien), as well as Pope' O'Mahony, Gainor Crist the original Ginger Man, and others – a remarkable group who revitalized post-war literature in Irel