The Irish Diaries (1994-2003): Alastair Campbell

2013 | Biography

The four volumes of spin-doctor and strategist Alastair Campbell's Diaries were a publishing sensation. As British Prime Minister Tony Blair's right-hand man, former journalist and political analyst Campbell played a critical role in every aspect of 'New' Labour strategy. Charting the course of British government from May 1994 to September 2001, Campbell's relentlessly honest, often controversial, occasionally brutal and always razor-sharp commentary has drawn critical acclaim around the world. This newly edited one-volume edition focuses on Ireland, and one of the Blair government's biggest successes, the Northern Ireland peace process. From the high of the Good Friday Agreement and devolution in Northern Ireland to the deadly lows of the Manchester and Omagh bombings, The Irish Diaries explodes the tensions, all-night talks, adrenalin-fuelled negotiations and heady personality clashes that are such an intrinsic part of twenty-first-century politics.

Annotated and fully revised by Alastair Campbell with new linking commentary, and featuring especially commissioned material by key figures in the Irish peace process, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, US President Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell himself, The Irish Diaries will be of huge interest for readers with an interest in Irish history and provide an important historical record for generations, in both Ireland and beyond.

Kathy Gilfillan (Author)