Future Popes of Ireland opens up with the visit of Pope John Paul II to Dublin in 1979, an event I remember well even though I was only a young child at the time. The book goes on through times in Ireland where the Church was pretty much the first and foremost authority, where corruption in Government was rife and where suspicion and contempt for anyone remotely different was unfortunately all too often seen.

I enjoyed this book, it struck a chord with me having lived through the years spanning the book, 1979 - 2011. Some of the language in it really struck me, as I fondly remembered particularly Irish phrases and sayings. However, one thing that irritated me was the reference to the name of the Phoenix Park. Most Dublin people refer to it as THE Phoenix Park, and not Phoenix Park.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Darragh Martin for an e-arc of Future Popes of Ireland in exchange for my honest opinion.

Eire today is a far, far different place from the pre-Celtic Tiger days when the story begins. The narrative spans three decades starting from the visit of Pope John Paul II to the Irish Republic in 1979, when the country was still a patriarchal society, permeated with religious hypocrisy and casual misogyny. Granny Doyle is so much in thrall to the Pontif and filled with religious fervour, that she decides her next grandchild will become the first Irish Pope - an unlikely outcome at the best of times, and these are not the best of times in the Republic.
Martin's s style is reminiscent of Flann O’Brien, with nods to the Father Ted series. However, the comic brio of the Irish vernacular belies the darker underbelly of this family saga, with its counterpoint of tragedy and grim social commentary. Recommended for fans of black comedy.

Future Popes of Ireland is a character-driven novel about the messiness of life and the way it unfolds, with a side helping of social relevance. Granny Doyle wants her family to produce the first Irish pope, but things don't go as planned, and she finds herself bringing up four grandchildren: five year old Peg and infant triplets Damian, Rosie, and John Paul. As they all grow up, things don't go as Granny Doyle planned, and soon the siblings are scattered. Peg left home as a teenager and is far away in New York now, Damian's musing political ideals and love whilst trying to tell his grandmother about his sexuality, Rosie is a dreaming activist who hopes of making her big sister confront the past, and John Paul has taken his pope role in a rather different direction than might have been hoped.

The narrative spans from 1979 to 2011, focusing on different siblings and their grandmother as their lives are weaved. Underpinning the story is the backdrop of Ireland and beyond: abortion and the 8th amendment, environmental issues, LGBT rights, war in the Middle East, and hope and despair in politics. This element gives the novel a relevant feel, rather than just being another novel focused on a family's messy personal drama. The characters are frustrating in a good way, flawed and foolish and unlikely to have a magical happy ending.

This is a novel that from the summary sounds like a lot of other books out there, but it has a surprising spark in its relevance and its depiction of messy and not easily described human lives. Levels of ambiguity and unspoken facts give it narrative power, and it can be witty and heart-warming as well as cutting.

Future Popes of Ireland is a social history of Ireland through the eyes of the Doyle Family. From Popemania in 1979, through liberalising of attitudes around abortion and contraception, to the Celtic Tiger property boom. To the outside observer, Ireland has very conservative and closeted values. It is no place to be gay, or pregnant outside of marriage. It is no place to be anti-corporate, or environmentally aware. All of that is a challenge to the Doyle Family. Granny Doyle may have 16th Century standards, but her feminist, gay, sister Mary is way ahead of her time.
The novel is also a dark fairy tale. Granny Doyle (let's face it, a tyrannical hag), is the wicked witch. She believes her useless son Danny and his wife Catherine can produce the first Irish Pope. To help them along, she curses their bed with holy water. Catastrophe strikes. Catherine dies in childbirth having triplets and Danny takes to his bed. So begins a generation of aggressive neglect. This is a cautionary tale for parents who have a favourite child.
There are four, unfortunate, children, but Granny only has time to enable John Paul, a fiend in human form. Nothing is ever his fault, despite his thieving, violence and extreme bigotry. He thinks he is a lovable chancer, but you long for him to be struck down with a thunderbolt. He has no redeeming features. Rosie is a dreamer who wants to save the world from big oil. Damien cannot cope with his desire for men. Poor Peg never gets the time of day, until she gets banished for getting pregnant in the most humiliating circumstances.
Eventually, Ireland becomes an easier place to live in, but is it enough for the Doyle family, who have lived without love for so long?