Notes from the Margins

(Paperback)

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Many years of experience in politics, and nowadays in trying to help people to make lasting changes in their lives and the lives of their children, have taught me how hard people have to struggle when there is no one to listen to their story. In a country where powerful vested interests have a disproportionate role in the making of public policy, people without a voice are much more likely to live on the margins . . . Throughout his life, Fergus Finlay has been a voice for people and groups who live on the edges of society. In over a decade of newspaper writings and radio columns, he has examined social inequity in Ireland in its many forms, never more passionately than when making arguing for the improved rights of children and struggling families. Always, he makes his case with keen insight, cogent argument and unfailing passion, as he casts a critical eye on the policy makers and powers that be who create a status quo which, in good times and bad, favours the haves above the have nots . Notes from the Margin is more than a selection of columns, it is a fascinating picture of a society that has undergone enormous change in a decade and an imploring case for creating a future which avoids the pitfalls of accumulation as an end onto itself, and focuses on what truly matter the equal rights of all citizens. I ve tried as hard as I can to use the platform I have to represent some kind of a voice for people who won t otherwise have any way to make their case.

Author Bio

Fergus Finlay broadcasts regularly on radio and television, with a weekly radio column on RTE, a weekly newspaper column in the Irish Examiner, and a monthly syndicated column in a number of regional newspapers. He is the bestselling author of three books, including his political memoir Snakes and Ladders. He worked for many years at the forefront of Irish industrial relations before moving into politics where he was adviser to Labour Leaders Dick Spring and Pat Rabbite. He is now CEO of Barnardos - Ireland's largest children's charity.