The Man in the Middle

A reissue of the popular 1988 book to celebrate this Year of Faith, which focuses on the life of Laurence O’Toole, one of the most colourful saints of Ireland. Born in 1128, much of St Laurence O’Toole’s youth was spent as a hostage of King Dermot McMurrough, the man who brought the Normans to Ireland. Upon his release, he became Abbot of Glendalough and then Archbishop of Dublin. He played a central role during the Norman invasion – as archbishop, he was the man in the middle, a churchman reluctantly involved in affairs of state, a mediator trusted and called on by all sides. He became renowned as a builder of churches, a man of prayer and a worker of miracles. This account draws on a variety of unpublished sources to provide a dramatic and gripping biography.