The definitive account of the tumultuous events that led to Ireland going broke in 2010

From the night the Irish government guaranteed the debts of Irish banks in September 2008 Ireland was on a one-way road to ruin.

In How Ireland Really Went Bust Matt Cooper, journalist, broadcaster and No 1 bestselling author of Who Really Runs Ireland?, describes the events that climaxed with the arrival of the heavy hitters from the IMF and the ECB in Government Buildings in November 2010 - and he assesses the fall-out of that fateful period in Ireland's recent history.

Drilling deep into the human dramas, the business catastrophes, the economic collapse and the unprecedented political upheaval that characterised the time after the bank bailout, Cooper gets to the heart of what really happened. And he investigates the background of the key decisions and reveals why they were taken, and by whom, to throw new light on a period that changed Ireland forever.

'A considerable piece of work ... read it and weep' Irish Times

'Cooper's previous bestseller Who Really Runs Ireland? was an authoritative and hugely readable account that told you everything you needed to know about who's who in Ireland and the golden circles that linked business and politics for generations. How Ireland Really Went Bust is equally impressive' Irish Independent

'A lively commentary with nuggets galore ... not just readable, but full of surprises' Sunday Independent

'[A] brilliant achievement that should be read by anyone interested in the state of the nation' Evening Herald

'Up-to-the-minute and exhaustive ... [Cooper] knows the players and they talk to him' Sunday Business Post