Frank Shouldice

Community and the Soul of Ireland: the Need for Values-based Change, Conversation with Fr. Henry Bohan Frank Shouldice

Fr. Harry Bohan, Director of the Ceifin Institute, is recognised as one of the leading social critics in Ireland today. An innovative and original thinker, Fr. Bohan argues that the economic success of recent years, while obviously welcome in many ways, has come at a considerable cost. The rapid changes in Irish society over the last decade - including a decline in the authority of the Church, a widening gap between the haves and have-nots, and a breakdown in the family as a social unit - have created a sense of unease despite our increased prosperity. Bohan argues that people have become disconnected from institutions - the Church, the state, the business community and the schools have all failed to provide moral leadership. The key question then remains: if the family and the institutions have lost their authority, who will raise the next generation? This book, the result of a lengthy interview with journalist and playwright Frank Shouldice, is a provocative and significant analysis of Irish society in the early 21st century.