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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.
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Review:
'A fascinatingly readable account of the scam.' --The Irish Mail on Sunday,October 3 2010
'In this brilliant piece of forensic work, Damian Corless teases out the phenomenal public response that let the sweepstakes thrive.' -- The Sunday Times, October 10 2010
'The book is a raucous tale of what must be one of the most extraordinary stories in modern Irish history.' -- Newsletter,October 16, 2010
About the Author:
'In this brilliant piece of forensic work, Damian Corless teases out the phenomenal public response that let the sweepstakes thrive.' -- The Sunday Times, October 10 2010
'The book is a raucous tale of what must be one of the most extraordinary stories in modern Irish history.' -- Newsletter,October 16, 2010
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.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherGill & Macmillan Ltd
- Publication date2010
- ISBN 10 0717146693
- ISBN 13 9780717146697
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages256
- Rating
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The Greatest Bleeding Hearts Racket in the World
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Gill & MacMillan, Limited
(2010)
ISBN 10: 0717146693
ISBN 13: 9780717146697
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The Greatest Bleeding Hearts Racket in the World
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(2010)
ISBN 10: 0717146693
ISBN 13: 9780717146697
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR003480155
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The Greatest Bleeding Hearts Racket in the World
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The Greatest Bleeding Hearts Racket in the World
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(2010)
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ISBN 13: 9780717146697
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Book Description Condition: very good. Dust Jacket Condition: no dustjacket. 8vo pp.244. book. Seller Inventory # 285299
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The Greatest Bleeding Hearts Racket in the World: Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes
Published by
Gill & MacMillan
(2010)
ISBN 10: 0717146693
ISBN 13: 9780717146697
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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Paperback, viii + 244pp + 16 pages of glossy b&w plates, NOT ex-library. A short Christmas inscription on the reverse of half-title page, else interior is very good: clean and bright with unmarked text, free of stamps, firmly bound. Minor handling marks on page edges externally. Covers show moderate creasing (diagonal corner creases), a bit of rubbing to edges, wear to tips of corners. Spine remains free of creasing. -- 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. -- Contents: 1 A Fiendish Crime at Our Doors; 2 Material Gain and Sordid Personal Advantage; 3 My Good Cause Is Better Than Your Good Cause; 4 The Go-Between; 5 Pigsties, Informers and Bogus Unions; 6 Tumbling Over Themselves to Get Hold of a Charity; 7 They Kept All the Money, of Course; 8 Protect me from All Evil Charms; 9 The Law Is in a State of Chaos; 10 Firing the American Imagination; 11 The Worst Revenge on the Old Enemy; 12 A Government Inquiry Would Be Unjustified; 13 The Irish Swoop; 14 The Great British Blackout; 15 He Upset the Pound-Dollar Exchange Rate for the Day; 16 I Wish We'd Never Won the Money; 17 No More Easy Money; 18 Help the Helpless and Help Yourself; 19 From Hollywood to Happy Days; 20 We Broke All the Laws of God and Man; 21 The ex-IRA Man and the Next Queen of England; 22 They Thought I Was Kind of Goofy; 23 The First Crowd I Flew to the Cayman Islands Were Sweeps People; 24 I Have Been Intimidated in Regard to the Hospitals Sweepstakes; 25 Get Rid of It! You Shouldn't Have It. Don't Use It!; 26 Fifty Years to Build It and Five Years to Blow It; Index. Seller Inventory # 008144
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