-
We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It
- A Memoir of My Irish Boyhood
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Art & Literature
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Audible Premium Plus
$14.95 a month
Buy for $17.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Shortest Day
- By: Colm Tóibín
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 1 hr and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the winter solstice, on the shortest day and longest night of the year, the ancient burial chamber at Newgrange is empowered. Its mystifying source is a haunting tale told by locals. Professor O’Kelly believes an archaeologist’s job is to make known only what can be proved. He is undeterred by ghost stories, idle speculation, and caution. Much to the chagrin of the living souls in County Meath. As well as those entombed in the sacred darkness of Newgrange itself. They’re determined to protect the secret of the light, guarded for more than 5,000 years.
-
-
Mystical realism
- By CaroSully, Denver on 01-11-21
By: Colm Tóibín
-
The Baker's Secret
- A Novel
- By: Stephen P. Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Only 22, Emma learned to bake at the side of a master, Ezra Kuchen, the village baker since before she was born. Apprenticed to Ezra at 13, Emma watched with shame and anger as her kind mentor was forced to wear the six-pointed yellow star on his clothing. She was likewise powerless to help when they pulled Ezra from his shop at gunpoint, the first of many villagers stolen away and never seen again. In the years that her sleepy coastal village has suffered under the enemy, Emma has silently, stealthily fought back.
-
-
Very eye-opening!!
- By Sharon A. Rossiter on 11-15-17
-
Lies the Mushroom Pickers Told
- A Novel
- By: Tom Phelan
- Narrated by: Jack Reynolds
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part human comedy and part mystery, Lies the Mushroom Pickers Told is an enthralling, masterful story about what holds a village together and what keeps people apart. When journalist Patrick Bracken returns to Gohen, the Irish village where he was born, he knows the eyes of the townspeople are on him. He has come home to investigate two deaths that happened decades earlier when he was a child, deaths that were ruled accidental.
-
-
Where did this come from, a great story.
- By Tom on 03-10-18
By: Tom Phelan
-
This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing
- By: Jacqueline Winspear
- Narrated by: Jacqueline Winspear
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After 16 novels, Jacqueline Winspear has taken the bold step of turning to memoir, revealing the hardships and joys of her family history. Both shockingly frank and deftly restrained, her story tackles the difficult, poignant, and fascinating family accounts of her paternal grandfather’s shell shock; her mother’s evacuation from London during the Blitz; and her soft-spoken animal-loving father’s torturous assignment to an explosives team during WWII.
-
-
A biography you won’t forget.
- By Mariel Louise McEwan on 11-15-20
-
The Discomfort of Evening
- A Novel
- By: Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, Michele Hutchison - translator
- Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ten-year-old Jas lives with her strictly religious parents and her siblings on a dairy farm where waste and frivolity are akin to sin. Despite the dreary routine of their days, Jas has a unique way of experiencing her world: her face soft like cheese under her mother’s hands; the texture of green warts, like capers, on migrating toads in the village; the sound of “blush words” that aren’t in the Bible. One icy morning, the disciplined rhythm of her family’s life is ruptured by a tragic accident, and Jas is convinced she is to blame.
-
-
Booker winner is a Downer
- By bjs on 09-05-20
By: Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, and others
-
The Tribes
- A Novel
- By: Mari Howes
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik, Piper Goodeve
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dark and daring debut novel exploring power, control and resilience against all odds, The Tribes tells the story of a cult member accused of a shocking crime and the lawyer who chooses to defend her.
-
-
The Tribes
- By Michelle on 12-12-20
By: Mari Howes
-
The Shortest Day
- By: Colm Tóibín
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 1 hr and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the winter solstice, on the shortest day and longest night of the year, the ancient burial chamber at Newgrange is empowered. Its mystifying source is a haunting tale told by locals. Professor O’Kelly believes an archaeologist’s job is to make known only what can be proved. He is undeterred by ghost stories, idle speculation, and caution. Much to the chagrin of the living souls in County Meath. As well as those entombed in the sacred darkness of Newgrange itself. They’re determined to protect the secret of the light, guarded for more than 5,000 years.
-
-
Mystical realism
- By CaroSully, Denver on 01-11-21
By: Colm Tóibín
-
The Baker's Secret
- A Novel
- By: Stephen P. Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Only 22, Emma learned to bake at the side of a master, Ezra Kuchen, the village baker since before she was born. Apprenticed to Ezra at 13, Emma watched with shame and anger as her kind mentor was forced to wear the six-pointed yellow star on his clothing. She was likewise powerless to help when they pulled Ezra from his shop at gunpoint, the first of many villagers stolen away and never seen again. In the years that her sleepy coastal village has suffered under the enemy, Emma has silently, stealthily fought back.
-
-
Very eye-opening!!
- By Sharon A. Rossiter on 11-15-17
-
Lies the Mushroom Pickers Told
- A Novel
- By: Tom Phelan
- Narrated by: Jack Reynolds
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part human comedy and part mystery, Lies the Mushroom Pickers Told is an enthralling, masterful story about what holds a village together and what keeps people apart. When journalist Patrick Bracken returns to Gohen, the Irish village where he was born, he knows the eyes of the townspeople are on him. He has come home to investigate two deaths that happened decades earlier when he was a child, deaths that were ruled accidental.
-
-
Where did this come from, a great story.
- By Tom on 03-10-18
By: Tom Phelan
-
This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing
- By: Jacqueline Winspear
- Narrated by: Jacqueline Winspear
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After 16 novels, Jacqueline Winspear has taken the bold step of turning to memoir, revealing the hardships and joys of her family history. Both shockingly frank and deftly restrained, her story tackles the difficult, poignant, and fascinating family accounts of her paternal grandfather’s shell shock; her mother’s evacuation from London during the Blitz; and her soft-spoken animal-loving father’s torturous assignment to an explosives team during WWII.
-
-
A biography you won’t forget.
- By Mariel Louise McEwan on 11-15-20
-
The Discomfort of Evening
- A Novel
- By: Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, Michele Hutchison - translator
- Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ten-year-old Jas lives with her strictly religious parents and her siblings on a dairy farm where waste and frivolity are akin to sin. Despite the dreary routine of their days, Jas has a unique way of experiencing her world: her face soft like cheese under her mother’s hands; the texture of green warts, like capers, on migrating toads in the village; the sound of “blush words” that aren’t in the Bible. One icy morning, the disciplined rhythm of her family’s life is ruptured by a tragic accident, and Jas is convinced she is to blame.
-
-
Booker winner is a Downer
- By bjs on 09-05-20
By: Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, and others
-
The Tribes
- A Novel
- By: Mari Howes
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik, Piper Goodeve
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dark and daring debut novel exploring power, control and resilience against all odds, The Tribes tells the story of a cult member accused of a shocking crime and the lawyer who chooses to defend her.
-
-
The Tribes
- By Michelle on 12-12-20
By: Mari Howes
-
The Orphan House
- Absolutely Gripping and Heartbreaking Historical Fiction
- By: Ann Bennett
- Narrated by: Naomi Frederick
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sarah Jennings knows there’s one place she can go to find some peace and quiet during her difficult divorce. But arriving at her beloved father’s home in the countryside, she finds him unwell and hunched over boxes of files, studying the records from Cedar Hall, the crumbling orphanage in town. He says that hidden behind the wrought iron gates and overgrown ivy are secrets about their family, and he asks for her help.
-
-
The Orphan House
- By Sylvia Sue Wilson on 04-22-20
By: Ann Bennett
-
The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules
- A Novel
- By: Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg
- Narrated by: Patience Tomlinson
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Martha Andersson may be 79 years old and live in a retirement home, but that doesn't mean she's ready to stop enjoying life. So when the new management of Diamond House starts cutting corners to save money, Martha and her four closest friends - The Genius, The Rake, Christina, and Anna-Gretta (aka the League of Pensioners) - won't stand for it. Fed up with early bedtimes and overcooked veggies, this group of feisty seniors sets about to regain their independence, improve their lot, and stand up for seniors everywhere.
-
-
Interesting possibilities. Terrible narration.
- By Linda on 02-17-17
-
The Dead Are Arising
- The Life of Malcolm X
- By: Les Payne, Tamara Payne
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An epic biography of Malcolm X finally emerges, drawing on hundreds of hours of the author's interviews, rewriting much of the known narrative.
-
-
Much more depth than the Haley book.
- By CapitalHeel on 11-03-20
By: Les Payne, and others
-
The Book of Lost Friends
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Wingate
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss, Sullivan Jones, Robin Miles, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling author of Before We Were Yours comes a new historical novel: the dramatic story of three young women searching for family amid the destruction of the post-Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who learns of their story and its vital connection to her students’ lives. Best-selling author Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as newly freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold away.
-
-
I want more!!!
- By Mrstlg on 04-11-20
By: Lisa Wingate
-
The Searcher
- A Novel
- By: Tana French
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a bucolic Irish village would be the perfect escape. After 25 years in the Chicago police force and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens. But when a local kid whose brother has gone missing arm-twists him into investigating, Cal uncovers layers of darkness beneath his picturesque retreat, and starts to realize that even small towns shelter dangerous secrets.
-
-
WONDERFULLY DREARY IRISH ATMOSPHERE & STORY
- By McSusie on 10-06-20
By: Tana French
-
'Tis
- By: Frank McCourt
- Narrated by: Frank McCourt
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Listen as Frank tells in his own inimitable voice his story of how at the age of 19 he traveled from Limerick to New York in pursuit of the American dream. Despite the abundance of unsolicited advice he gets to "join the cops" and "stick to his own kind", Frank knows that he should educate himself and somehow rise above his circumstances.
-
-
Marvelous
- By Tony on 02-05-06
By: Frank McCourt
-
An Irish Country Doctor
- A Novel
- By: Patrick Taylor
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barry Laverty, MB, can barely find the village of Ballybucklebo on a map when he first sets out to seek gainful employment there, but already he knows that there is nowhere he would rather live than in the emerald hills and dales of Northern Ireland. The proud owner of a spanking-new medical degree and little else in the way of worldly possessions, Barry jumps at the chance to secure a position as an assistant in a small rural practice.
-
-
Fun Book
- By Sara on 10-24-14
By: Patrick Taylor
-
The Family Gift
- By: Cathy Kelly
- Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Four women, all at different stages of their life, are brought together as they overcome the challenges that life tends to throw in our way - and learn to embrace the surprises, too, as each faces a second chance at happiness.
-
-
Wonder book loved it
- By Sarah Vaulbert on 06-26-20
By: Cathy Kelly
-
Call Your Daughter Home
- By: Deb Spera
- Narrated by: Robin Miles, Adenrele Ojo, Brittany Pressley
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1924 in Branchville, South Carolina, and three women have come to a crossroads. Gertrude, a mother of four, must make an unconscionable decision to save her daughters. Retta, a first-generation freed slave, comes to Gertrude's aid by watching her children, despite the gossip it causes in her community. Annie, the matriarch of the influential Coles family, offers Gertrude employment at her sewing circle, while facing problems of her own at home.
-
-
Lovely story/perfect narration
- By christi mccoy on 07-08-19
By: Deb Spera
-
Voyage of Mercy
- The USS Jamestown, the Irish Famine, and the Remarkable Story of America's First Humanitarian Mission
- By: Stephen Puleo
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Voyage of Mercy, Stephen Puleo tells the incredible story of the famine, the Jamestown voyage, and the commitment of thousands of ordinary Americans to offer relief to Ireland, a groundswell that provided the collaborative blueprint for future relief efforts, and established the United States as the leader in international aid. The USS Jamestown’s heroic voyage showed how the ramifications of a single decision can be measured not in days, but in decades.
-
-
Fascinating story
- By Jedlie on 06-04-20
By: Stephen Puleo
-
Something Beautiful Happened
- A Story of Survival and Courage in the Face of Evil
- By: Yvette Manessis Corporon
- Narrated by: Pam Turlow
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yvette Manessis Corporon grew up listening to her grandmother's stories about how the people of the small Greek island Erikousa hid a Jewish family - a tailor named Savvas and his daughters - from the Nazis during World War II. Nearly 2,000 Jews from that area died in the concentration camps, but even though everyone on Erikousa knew Savvas and his family were hiding on the island, no one ever gave them up, and the family survived the war. Years later, Yvette decided to track down the man's descendants - and eventually found them in Israel.
-
-
Absolutely wonderful! Thank you, Yvette.
- By Cellowoman on 09-21-17
-
The Giver of Stars
- A Novel
- By: Jojo Moyes
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So, when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically. The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything.
-
-
Weird Similarities to “The Book Woman...”
- By MMinSouthernCA on 11-21-19
By: Jojo Moyes
Publisher's Summary
In the tradition of Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes and Alice Taylor’s To School Through the Fields, Tom Phelan’s We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It is a heartfelt and masterfully written memoir of growing up in Ireland in the 1940s.
Tom Phelan, who was born and raised in County Laois in the Irish Midlands, spent his formative years working with his wise and demanding father as he sought to wrest a livelihood from a farm that was often wet, muddy, and backbreaking.
It was a time before rural electrification, the telephone, and indoor plumbing; a time when the main modes of travel were bicycle and animal cart; a time when small farmers struggled to survive and turkey eggs were hatched in the kitchen cupboard; a time when the Church exerted enormous control over Ireland.
We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It recounts Tom’s upbringing in an isolated, rural community from the day he was delivered by the local midwife. With tears and laughter, it speaks to the strength of the human spirit in the face of life's adversities.
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- danielle
- 12-13-19
Warning: you'll laugh and cry
Excellent writing. Beautiful story. Lovely reading. We laughed until the last chapter and epilogue, when we cried. Worth every penny.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 12-06-20
Excellent
This has to be one of the best audio I have listened. it brings you back to life in Ireland when money was short but people stilled looked out for one another