The most recent offering from author and historian, Dennis McIntyre is concerned with an aspect of Irish social history that relates to aspirants for the priesthood who, for various reasons, were never ordained as Catholic priests. In the vernacular, they were known as 'spoiled priests', 'priesteens' or, 'sagarts'.
This treatise delves deep into the matter of how religion, priests and the Catholic Church infiltrated and wove itself into the very fabric of Irish society and Irish life. It relates the almost unbelievably sad story of the pathetic, fictitious, Gaysa (the principal character in this narrative and a spoilt priest) and the repercussions that his rejection had, for his life and the lives of those around him.
It is a book that is rich in social history and will be of interest to anyone curious about just how Ireland and Irish society, dominated by the Catholic Church, developed in the way that it did.
Dennis McIntyre is an author who really believes that we study history in order to learn from it: for the benefit of ours and future generations as well as for greater human betterment. Hence, while the author does not hold back in his pointed criticisms, the reader will not fail to see the purpose of his polemic:
"There was and is little wrong with the church that Our Lord, Jesus left to us. It has stood and will continue to stand the test of time. There was and is no cause for anyone to throw out the baby with the bathwater."
As if to reinforce that view, he concludes, magnanimously, with ‘an apology to all the good priests!’
Dennis McIntyre is an author, historian, tour guide, broadcaster and former teacher. Originally from Sligo, he has lived in the Clontarf area of Dublin for a number of years, where he has established a reputation as a local historian, arising out of publications such as The Meadow of the Bull: A History of Clontarf ("You will probably find a well-worn copy of this book in every household in Clontarf!") and 'Bram Stoker and the Irishness of Dracula' – a book that brings it all back home as far as the world’s most enduring vampire story is concerned.
He has also written books that trace the trajectory of events that culminated in Ireland’s quest for independence ('Irish Nationalism, Irish Republicanism and the 1916 Easter Rising') while 'The Principal Brathadóir' not just lifts the lid but also stirs the pot on the inner workings of the Irish educational system.
In addition to his writing, Dennis McIntyre also serves as founder and director of Dublin North Bay Tourism and the Stoker Dracula Gothic Organisation.
