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Diarmaid Ferriter
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Occasions of Sin: Sex and Society in Modern Ireland Hardcover – July 1, 2010

by Diarmaid Ferriter (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
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Ferriter covers such subjects as abortion, pregnancy, celibacy, contraception, censorship, infanticide, homosexuality, prostitution, marriage, popular culture, social life and the various hidden Irelands associated with sexual abuse - all in the context of a conservative official morality backed by the Catholic Church and by legislation. The book energetically and originally engages with subjects omitted from the mainstream historical narrative. The breadth of this book and the richness of the source material uncovered make it definitive in its field and a most remarkable work of social history.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    640 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Profile Books
  4. Publication date
    July 1, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    6.4 x 1.8 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1861979185
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1861979186
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ferriter will merit the attention of anyone interested in Irish social, economic, and religious history" -Booklist

"A groundbreaking study of the control of sexuality by church and state in twentieth century Ireland...a riveting account...for anyone tempted by the sin of nostalgia, Ferriter's superbly researched narrative is a powerful prophylactic" - Observer

"It analyses the flaws in the way the Irish saw themselves, and hoped that others would see them... the book adds up to a tremendous feat of documentation which leaves no source of misery unprobed." - The Independent


"Ferriter will merit the attention of anyone interested in Irish social, economic, and religious history" -Booklist

"A groundbreaking study of the control of sexuality by church and state in twentieth century Ireland...a riveting account...for anyone tempted by the sin of nostalgia, Ferriter's superbly researched narrative is a powerful prophylactic" - Observer

"It analyses the flaws in the way the Irish saw themselves, and hoped that others would see them... the book adds up to a tremendous feat of documentation which leaves no source of misery unprobed." - The Independent

About the Author

Diarmaid Ferriter is Professor of Modern Irish History at University College, Dublin. He is the author of the acclaimed and best-selling Transformation of Ireland 1900-2000.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Profile Books; Main edition (July 1, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 640 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1861979185
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1861979186
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.06 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 1.8 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 16 ratings

About the author

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Diarmaid Ferriter

Diarmaid Ferriter

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
16 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Pacific Practitioner
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2016
Verified Purchase
SUPER interesting read for those who are interested in human sexuality!
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John L. Murphy
4.0 out of 5 stars The grim & prim permeate a solid, sober study
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2010
A leading historian takes the same approach that enlivened his "The Transformation of Ireland: 1900-2000" (2004; see my review): he intersperses anecdotes, data, analysis into a vast narrative panorama of slow but stunning social change in his native island.

This is a big book for a topic often stereotyped by his academic colleagues, and Ferriter carefully shows how the clergy and state were both warped by mores, pressure, fear, and ignorance to control men and women largely constrained by Irish Catholicism to suppress their urges. Marriage often was delayed in a rural economy where the eldest son waited to inherit the farm; other siblings were left often into a life of unwanted celibacy, if not emigration. How to police their temptations and curb their urges meant the Church and State had to censor the media, patrol the hedgerows, and terrorize the sinners who out of weakness as well as innocence found themselves abused, pregnant, manipulated, or trapped.

Ferriter investigates court records and police files as well as ecclesiastical and legal reports, so this tilts as he admits his study towards the darker sides of sexual expression rather than their joyful manifestations. Given the difficulty of testimony for the latter in much of 20c Irish documents, he takes us through the amassed data skillfully and with a bit of sympathy and a touch of wry humor in a narrative that needs it. He addresses a wider audience than his scholarly peers, so it's a readable study accessible to any diligent reader. He avoids jargon and theory, and he keeps his attention on the primary sources to show us how gradually the Irish society liberated itself by the 70s and 80s from the clerical and media power brokers.

The sex abuse scandals and the sad story of the Magdelene laundries, added to the fate of many single mothers and their children, darkens later chapters and merits the detail he gives to such controversies. The debates over abortion and contraception, divorce and homosexuality, pre-marital sex and sex education all enrich his book. What I would have wished more of: how the North of Ireland might (or might not) have differed from the Free State and Republic as to a more British-dominated ethos of sexuality.

As to the whole island, analysis was needed in greater depth of the current results of one-third of Irish women having babies without being married, the quite sudden (compared to the Anglo-American trend) lurch into a secular, eroticized, and commodified sexual culture that ties into the binge drinking and loutish behaviors widespread among many Irish people today, and the effects of so quick a turnaround to a non-Catholic, permissive, uninhibited and drug-tinged lifestyle that seems to have caught up many in its grasp in Celtic Tiger days.

However, these changes of course are so recent that perhaps future scholars will build upon Ferriter's pioneering work and explain this aspect in more detail. In the meantime, this work should satisfy anybody seeking to understand why for so long Ireland seemed to change little in its sexual customs, and how long Churches and State sought to channel basic desires into a basis for domination in the name of bettering the people and saving their souls.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Charlie
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, One was aware of the ethos that ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2014
Verified Purchase
Excellent book, One was aware of the ethos that
existed in the country while growing up but it was worse than I ever imagined.
In the aftermath
of the child abuse scandals in Ireland this book will help one understand
why these things happened: the ultimate power of the church in Ireland,
their abuse of this power and the ignornace and intimidation that existed
in the country under their sway. Terrible revelations, it is a wonder that
there is any normality in the country with this kind of mentality as the norm
still in certain parts of the country.
3 people found this helpful
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olga cox cameron
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for our times.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
Excellent. Thorough and drawn from all sorts of interesting sources. I particularly appreciated the use of literature.
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anna charczun
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2015
Verified Purchase
:)
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