An Accidental Diplomat: My Years in the Irish Foreign Service 1987-95

The book of 2001. Eamon Delaney's controversial Number 1 bestselling exposé of backstage life at the Department of Foreign Affairs - Eamon Delaney saw a lot - luckily for us, he was taking notes.

Eamon Delaney started in the Department of Foreign Affairs at the tender age of twenty-four. It was 1987, the eve of Charles Haughey's triumphant return to power. Tense times for diplomats of Iveagh House.

From the lonely nights at the Soviet Desk to glamorous soirées during Ireland's presidency of the emerging European Union, Eamon Delaney kept his ear to the ground - a useful skill when wedged precariously between Iran, Iraq and Israel at the UN General Assembly. And more useful still when, at the Irish Consulate, he travelled the strange world of Irish America, doing battle with radical nationalists and having to indulge in a painful amount of céilí dancing...

And then there was Northern Ireland, and the Peace Process of 1993-1995, where no amount of dining, spying and manipulation was spared in the pursuit of the ultimate goal - the greater good of officialdom.

Praise for An Accidental Diplomat:

'John Le Carre meets Bill Bryson with a touch of yes, Minister' The Irish Times

‘A great read’ Marian Finucane, RTÉ Radio 1

‘Absolutely essential reading… [It’s] a wonderful book… a fabulous read… and there aren’t many of those around’ Eamon Dunphy

‘I am gob-smacked by how good it is. It is the most terrific read, full of knowledge, wit, observation, and humanity’ Mary Kenny