The Enigma of Arthur Griffith: The Enigma of Arthur Griffith - ‘Father of Us All’

On reading in the first pages that Colum Kenny is an award-winning scholar, I licked my lips in anticipation But what I was served was a cold, stale dish. It appears that the author set out to validate the accuracy of the book title, for we rarely get close to the man himself and are left scratching our heads. Kenny is fixated on the importance of James Joyce and, to a lesser degree, on charges that Griffith was anti-Semitic. These prove too great an encumbrance for the patience of the reader. More than half the text is given over to Griffith before the seminal period for which he is best known.This is highly frustrating, as it's only in the last few (slim) sections that we see him as we hoped we would. Overall, this reader regards Kenny's work as a great opportunity missed.