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Rough Beast

My Story and the Reality of Sinn Féin

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Rough Beast

By: Máiría Cahill
Narrated by: Máiría Cahill
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Bloomsbury presents Rough Beast written and read by Máiría Cahill.

NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER IN THE IRISH NON-FICTION CHARTS

"Rough Beast is shocking, important and unputdownable." Roddy Doyle

Rough Beast is Máiría Cahill's harrowing story of her life and of what she went through at the hands of what is now Ireland’s largest and richest party. That story is told here for the first time in full detail and with unsparing honesty. It is a story of unimaginable trauma and political corruption. It brings to life a world of paramilitary secrecy and parallel laws, but above all it is the story of one young woman’s defiance of the power wielded by ex-gunmen inspiring fear and silence, and their influence over elected politicians.

Máiría Cahill grew up steeped in the traditions of Irish republicanism and the shadowy world of the IRA: her great-uncle Joe was one of the main founders of the Provisional IRA and her grandfather was Gerry Adams's mentor in the republican movement. From an early age she seemed destined for a glittering career within the increasingly successful political machine of Sinn Féin, which was then enjoying the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement. She worked in a radio station alongside leading republicans; the Sinn Féin offices were her second home. She knew Gerry Adams and other senior republicans as family friends.

But at the age of 16, she was sexually abused by a prominent Belfast IRA man. When she confided in some friends she trusted about the abuse, one of them told the IRA without Máiría's knowledge. A year later the organisation came calling, and forced her to take part in an inept and grotesquely insensitive internal investigation. She was subjected to round after round of interrogations by senior IRA men and women, usually in a network of safe houses around Belfast. Doubt was cast on her account of what had been done to her. Her assailant was allowed to confront and denounce her. Eventually her rapist was permitted to vanish from Belfast while Sinn Féin and the IRA professed bafflement about his whereabouts. Corruption & Misconduct Historical Political Science Politics & Government Women Inspiring
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Critic reviews

Rough Beast is shocking, important and unputdownable.
A true story of crime, memory, and justice, Rough Beast is absorbing and endlessly moving. It is a meteor of a book, blazing and unforgettable.
Remarkable and shocking...Cahill writes with clarity and describes events in a direct, no-nonsense way
A book that goes head to head with republicans like no other, because she knows the situation from the inside.
[A] searing memoir of rape and abuse at the hands of the Irish Republican Army
The most perceptive and devastating insight into the deranged morality of the Sinn Fein/IRA movement of recent years
[A] searing account of sexual abuse
A book which everyone in the British Isles should read
A brave and pentrating critic of Irish republican politics, Cahill is a brilliant and powerful writer
Cahill’s uncompromising account of her abuse should make any Sinn Féin supporter feel deeply uncomfortable
Cahill’s modest story is an important record. It hints at an adjacently possible world that doesn’t have to repeat the poisonous cycles of the past... The book momentary clears the pall of forgetfulness on less regarded acts that fall outside the shiny allure of grand narratives. As such, it’s worth its weight in gold.
Ms Cahill writes in harrowing detail of her treatment by Sinn Féin when she went public and why she feels let down by the PSNI. For all those with an interest in how society treats women, republicanism or modern Irish politics, this book is a must read.
All stars
Most relevant
incredible bravery from Maria, A real eye opener on the depravity of Sinn Fein and it's leadership

a genuine hero

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Once I started it, I found it hard to put it down. truly inspiring

I was gripped from the start.

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I have read numerous books about the struggles in the North of Ireland. I’m English, of no Christian faith; yet truly understand why the Troubles happened and how the people in the North of Ireland were pushed into action against the treatment of Catholics, and the British government. This book, is a testament to the following Sinn Fein leadership and eventual corruption of “a political party“ who in its vigorous pursuit of power, ignored the principles and practices to protect children. Children who were sexually abused; the ineptitude, incompetence and cover up, for the greater “good “ of the party, using the threat of the IRA, to silence victims. This young, courageous, clever and honest woman, should be so very proud of herself. She reveals her vulnerability, her courage when threatened and her dogged determination to make sure that she protects others from the treatment she received. I am truly humbled by Máiría. What you have achieved is truly remarkable and selfless. A must read for everyone, irrespective of their background. I wish her a happy future with her daughter in peace.

A woman whom everyone should be proud of.

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Well done Maria
It took courage to tell the truth about SF/IRA
How any right minded person can vote for them is beyond comprehension

The truth

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A thoroughly well written book that, despite the horrific subject matter, is hard to ‘put down’. The honesty Cahill displays in discussing the impact her abuse had on her shows just how devastating it can be for those who have suffered it. Likewise, the response to it from many was clearly despicable, and it’s only right they should be called out.

Not many people would have had the courage to do what Cahill has done.

Brave

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