An Irish Passion for Justice reveals the life and work of Paul O'Dwyer, the Irish-born and quintessentially New York activist, politician, and lawyer who fought in the courts and at the barricades for the rights of the downtrodden and the marginalized throughout the 20th century.

O'Dwyer's legal crusades, political campaigns, and civic interactions ensured he cut a principled and progressive path through New York City's political machinery and America's reactionary Cold War landscape. His consistent left-wing politics and defense of accused Communists in the labor movement often exposed him to sharp criticism from within and outside the Irish American community. Even so, his fierce beliefs, loyalty to his brother William, who was the city's mayor after World War II, and influence in Irish American circles also inspired respect and support. Recognized by his gentle brogue and white pompadour, he organized Black voters during the Civil Rights movement, and denounced the Vietnam War as an insurgent Democratic candidate for US Senate. Finally, he enlisted future president Bill Clinton to bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. O'Dwyer was both a man of his time and a politician beyond his years.

Robert Polner and Michael Tubridy are the authors of An Irish Passion for Justice (Cornell University Press, May 15, 2024).

Polner reported extensively for Newsday, the New York Daily News, and other newspapers. Now a public affairs officer with NYU, he has cowritten or edited four other books, including The Man Who Saved New York, a 2010 chronicle of New York Gov. Hugh Carey and the 1975 NYC fiscal crisis (winner of the Empire State History Book Award).

Tubridy is a researcher, editor, and freelance writer whose work has appeared in Irish America, The Recorder, and Kirkus Reviews, among other publications. With Irish roots on both sides of his family, he writes and lectures on Irish and Irish American literature, film, and history. His blog is called "A Boat Against the Current.”