A unique memoir of the life of a prominent cattle dealer in County Meath, based on interviews carried out by his daughter. The Catholic 'strong farmer' was a crucial force in the shaping of modern Ireland from the early nineteenth century. Politically, the strong farmers were the bulwarks of Catholic emancipation, of the post-Famine church and of mainstream Irish nationalism. Socially, they shaped the transition from a labor-intensive grain economy to a cattle economy. Buckley brilliantly weaves together the threads of history and folklore to tell a tale of money, power, and family ties.