First Quarter

Synopsis

First Quarter is a gorgeous, lyrical memoir that tells the story of the award-winning architect’s formative years – from childhood in rural Ireland through to becoming a fully-fledged architect in London and Dublin. En route, Tuomey, who co-founded his practice, O’Donnell +  Tuomey, with his wife, Sheila O’Donnell, remembers his peripatetic childhood, the brutality of his school years, the up-ending of Ireland’s clergy, meeting Sheila at university, and working for James Stirling. 

It is by turns generous, lyrical and, perhaps, a little elegiac. Highly recommended.