Preview
  • We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It

  • A Memoir of My Irish Boyhood
  • By: Tom Phelan
  • Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
  • Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (116 ratings)

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

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

Publisher's summary

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
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    77
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    84
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    67
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Warning: you'll laugh and cry

Excellent writing. Beautiful story. Lovely reading. We laughed until the last chapter and epilogue, when we cried.
Worth every penny.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyable, quintessentially Irish

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.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book and narration

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

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

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.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

LOVED IT !!

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

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very cute, fun to hear.

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.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

funny

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

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

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!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So good!

Poignant , real and rich! I loved hearing about life on an Irish farm in the 50s I loved hearing about how his father and mother never showed outward displays of affection, but how the author understood how much they loved each other by the fact that every night after dinner, his father would get up and wash the dishes, while his mother sat by the fire and read the paper… And so much more

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I love this book

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

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!