A Nation Once Again

<b>THE NO 1 BESTSELLER</b><p><b>The hilarious new satire from the bestselling author of the <i>Ross O'Carroll-Kelly </i>series</b></p><p>‘Funny, smart. seriously thought-provoking' <b>Joseph O'Connor</b></p><p>'Hilarious, bang-on, even slightly disturbing - everything I love about Paul Howard's writing.' <b>Roddy Doyle</b></p><p>‘I absolutely LOVED <i>A Nation Once Again</i>. It was such a huge pleasure to read, I laughed out loud so many times. Paul Howard is a literal genius.’<b> Marian Keyes</b></p><p><b>---</b></p><p><i>There’s only one idea more foolish than dividing Ireland – and that’s trying to put it back together again.</i></p><p>Meet Fiach O’Bric: career diplomat, recent widower, and a man looking forward to a peaceful retirement. But just when he thinks he's out, he is strong-armed into taking over a shadowy top-secret department tasked with preparing for a United Ireland — a job so surreal it makes his last posting, in Beijing, seem like a Buddhist retreat.</p><p>Running the Department with Responsibility for Making Arrangements for the Unification of Ireland, an outfit quietly failing since 1958, Fiach finds himself managing a team of oddballs, timeservers, and a die-hard nationalist from Dundalk. And he spends his days refereeing rows about everything everyone has failed to agree for about 800 years, as well as absurd new suggestions – like conjuring a capital city that nobody actually wants. In Westmeath. Nothing is too crazy to be proposed, nor too sensible to be rejected.</p><p>Fiach can feel the hand of history upon his shoulder. He suspects it may soon throttle him.</p><p>Yet, against his better judgement — and all available evidence — a dangerous thought takes hold. What if <i>he</i> could be the one to do what Tone, Pearse and centuries of Irish martyrs failed to do: make Ireland one, and somehow not die in the process.</p><p>Dream on, Fiach.</p><p><b>---</b></p><p>'Funny, smart and provocative, the scariest thing about this novel is that it might be based on fact.' <b>John Boyne</b></p><p>‘Disgracefully funny’ <b><i>Sunday Independent</i></b></p><p>‘Best thing he’s ever done – I am in awe’<b> Róisín Ingle</b></p><p>‘Very funny’ <b>Patrick Freyne</b></p><p>'Riotously funny with a cast of characters I was sad to leave.' <b>Sarah Breen</b></p><p>‘I LOVED IT! It is funny, sharp, super-smart and thoughtful.’ <b>Emily Hourican</b></p><p>‘Pure farce … funny and scabrous’ <b>Seamus O’Reilly, <i>Irish Times</i></b></p><p>‘Hilarious’<b> RTÉ Guide</b></p><p>‘Very funny … comic but deeply insightful’ <b>Matt Cooper</b></p><p>‘A great read’ <b>Hugh Linehan, <i>Inside Politics podcast</i></b></p><p>‘It was well worth dividing Ireland in the first place for this brilliant book.’ <b>Declan Lynch</b></p><p>‘Properly hilarious’ <b><i>Sunday Independent</i></b></p><p>'Expertly mines the North's sectarian granite to produce a masterpiece of fact and hilarity. I almost passed out.'<b> Joe Brolly</b></p><p>'This playful novel showcases Howard's gift for one-liners and comic scenarios.’ <b><i>Irish Independent</i></b></p>