We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It Audiobook By Tom Phelan cover art

We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It

A Memoir of My Irish Boyhood

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It

By: Tom Phelan
Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.99

Buy for $14.99

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

In the tradition of Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes and Alice Taylor’s To School Through the Fields, Tom Phelan’s We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It is a heartfelt and masterfully written memoir of growing up in Ireland in the 1940s.

Tom Phelan, who was born and raised in County Laois in the Irish Midlands, spent his formative years working with his wise and demanding father as he sought to wrest a livelihood from a farm that was often wet, muddy, and backbreaking.

It was a time before rural electrification, the telephone, and indoor plumbing; a time when the main modes of travel were bicycle and animal cart; a time when small farmers struggled to survive and turkey eggs were hatched in the kitchen cupboard; a time when the Church exerted enormous control over Ireland.

We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It recounts Tom’s upbringing in an isolated, rural community from the day he was delivered by the local midwife. With tears and laughter, it speaks to the strength of the human spirit in the face of life's adversities.

©2019 Tom Phelan (P)2019 Simon & Schuster
Art & Literature Authors Cultural & Regional Ireland Village Heartfelt
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup
Vivid Storytelling • Engaging Life Stories • Talented Narrator • Heartwarming Family Tales • Captivating Irish Memoir
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Excellent writing. Beautiful story. Lovely reading. We laughed until the last chapter and epilogue, when we cried.
Worth every penny.

Warning: you'll laugh and cry

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A wonderful memoir narrated perfectly. A retelling of the life of an Irish farmer's son dotted with great humor, at times uproariously hilarious, and other times deeply moving. One is able to visualize each story in vivid detail while listening to this most talented narrator, whose various voices depict each character with perfect aplomb. I only wish I could listen again for the first time.

Thoroughly enjoyable, quintessentially Irish

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I love the narrators voice, he makes it feel like your in the book too.

Great book and narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Lovely story. Glimpse into a time passed and soon to be forgotten as people die off. It was a totally different world. Record stories of your grandparents.

Very enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I've Listened to this book Over and over again !! its a Very Good !! a great story

LOVED IT !!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Really neat book, loved hearing it. Not overly exciting but great stories worth hearing. Nice to know about times in the past and hear how people lived.

Very cute, fun to hear.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

i found myself laughing much. and brought back memories of my dad and gma. excellant funny stories.

funny

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the voice performance. The farm and people came to life! Can't recommend it enough!

I love this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The innocence and raw truth through the memories of one’s childhood was catching. Beautifully written book and the audible version really brought the story to life with the Irish accent.

Wonderful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Loved this book. Thoroughly enjoyed the Irish vocabulary. Definitely reminds you of how easy we have it these days and the harder issues that people had to face back then on rural farms. Characters were well developed- moments of hilarity and sadness, truly enjoyed listening to this bit of history!

Great story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews