"In Praise Of Poteen" is a brief history of Poitín making in Ireland. The author sets out the reasons that illegal spirit brewing arose (Crown greed in raising revenue) and the measures taken to stamp it out.
Amusing little anecdotal references are included, such as "in 1825, Blake reports that 'the grand jury of a western town retain the right to drink poitin at their common table, so much did its members prefer it to the lawful spirit'"!
The 'progress' of legitimate distilling against poitin production is detailed and a table showing the top 10 poitin producing counties is given. Branding Father Matthew (the temperance advocate) as "this meddling priest" does nothing to dent the credibility of the author.
The author has undertaken extensive research to produce a most readable and amusing story of poitin production, both in Ireland and in the USA (invariably by Irish emigrants).