This is a very interesting and important biography of an Irish civil servant who worked under the British administration in Ireland before independence and then under the Irish Free State since 1922. Brennan provided advice to the Irish Treaty delegation on financial matters and worked in the Department of Finance beginning in 1922 initially with Ernest Blythe. As the two had a difficult relationship he eventually left to head the Currency Commission which was investigating the suitability for Ireland to have a Central Bank. In later life he would be Governor of this organisation. The book is well written and gives an intimate portrait of a highly significant figure in Irish life and his dealings with the politicians he came into contact with. ( )