“I was an inadvertent immigrant to the Emerald Isle in the age of the Celtic Tiger, a time when great amounts of wealth were being generated, more money than this island had ever known. Since I’d arrived with my new husband, my 8-year-old daughter, and my business plan, the Irish had been busy covering their ancient green land with suburban track homes, shopping malls, and fast-food franchises. Local pubs were being replaced by multi-story dance clubs, and discount mortgage brokers were opening offices in every town and village across the land.

“Ireland, like me, had a deep yearning for acknowledgement. She, like me, ached to compete in the global business arena. Over the seven years I lived in this country, I watched it race enthusiastically in the direction of its own demise, speeding toward an economic cliff.

“But I’m getting ahead of my story.

“How did I end up in Ireland in the first place? As is too often the case, the answer to that question had to do with a man…”