The Greatest Bleeding Hearts Racket in the World by Damian Corless

The Greatest Bleeding Hearts Racket in the World by Damian Corless

The Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes was Ireland's most famous export from the 1930s to the 1970s when it was finally exposed for the sordid scam that it was. The epic story of this illicit super-lottery encompasses tales of international piracy and instant celebrity; of smuggling on a global scale using IRA old boy networks; of publicity blackouts ordered by tormented governments; of turf wars with other rackets; of massive institutionalised bribery and corruption; of damaging diplomatic incidents; and not least of the Irish hospitals which were used as a front and increasingly starved of the funds gathered in their name. This is a tale of greed, adventure, fraud and intrigue spanning decades. It's one of the twentieth century's boldest success stories and one of its most brazen scandals. And now it's almost forgotten. Only the term 'Irish Sweeps' lingers, part of North American folk memory, unthinkingly used today as a by-word for 'hitting the jackpot'. The Sweeps provided a plotline for Hollywood movies, Broadway musicals and classic TV shows. Now, The Greatest Bleeding Hearts Racket in the World tells the whole story. It is a terrific read.

Damian Corless is a former Managing Editor of Magill, Editor of In Dublin and News Analyst with the Evening Herald. He currently contributes to the Irish Independent. His books include GUBU Nation (2004) and Party Nation (2007). He has written TV comedy for BBC2 and RTE.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780717146697
ISBN 10	0717146693
Title	The Greatest Bleeding Hearts Racket in the World
Author	Damian Corless
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Gill
Year published	2010-09-17
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.