RO'CK of Ages
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use Irish English|date=April 2022}}
{{Short description|2021 non-fiction book by Paul Howard}}
{{Infobox book
| name = RO'CK of Ages: From Boom Days to Zoom Days
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = RO'CK of Ages.jpg
| caption =
| author = Paul Howard
| illustrator = Alan Clarke
| cover_artist = Alan Clarke
| country = Ireland
| language = English
|title_working=
| series = Ross O'Carroll-Kelly
| subject =
| genre = Serial
| publisher = Sandycove
| pub_date = 1 April 2021
| english_pub_date =
| media_type = Paperback
|set_in=Dublin, 2007–2020
| pages = 368
| isbn = 978-1-84488-569-5
| oclc =
| dewey = 823.92
| congress =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
RO'CK of Ages: From Boom Days to Zoom Days is a 2021 book by Irish journalist and author Paul Howard, as part of the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly series.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tB8OEAAAQBAJ&q=%22RO'CK+of+Ages%22+review&pg=PT169|title=RO'CK of Ages: From boom days to Zoom days|first=Ross|last=O'Carroll-Kelly|date=1 April 2021|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=9781844885701|via=Google Books}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thephoenix.ie/article/rock-of-ages-ross-ocarroll-kelly/|title=Ro'ck of Ages|date=May 6, 2021|website=The Phoenix Magazine}} It is a compilation of newspaper columns previously published in The Irish Times between 2007 and 2021.{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/books-to-look-out-for-in-2021-1.4443970|title=Books to look out for in 2021|first=Martin|last=Doyle|newspaper=The Irish Times}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.dubraybooks.ie/rock-of-ages_9781844885695|title=RO'CK of Ages|website=Dubray Books|date=29 September 2023 }}
The title is a reference to the hymn "Rock of Ages", the Irish economic boom, and the use of Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/paul-howard-ten-things-i-ve-learned-writing-ross-o-carroll-kelly-1.4518120|title=Paul Howard: Ten things I've learned writing Ross O'Carroll-Kelly|first=Paul|last=Howard|newspaper=The Irish Times}}
Reception
Eugene O'Brien wrote in an Irish Times review, "There is a truth in fiction, and in Howard's work, satire provides the mode for the telling of this truth. His parallel Ireland is a mirror though which we can smile at the “real” Ireland, but also learn more about it than it is often willing to teach."{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/ross-o-carroll-kelly-s-parallel-ireland-a-mirror-for-us-to-crack-up-at-1.4551111|title=Ross O'Carroll Kelly's parallel Ireland: a mirror for us to crack up at|newspaper=The Irish Times|first=Eugene|last=O'Brien|date=3 May 2021|accessdate=18 April 2022}}
Niamh Donnelly, in the same paper, wrote that "[Ross'] misguided wisdom seems to grow ever more salient as the years go by."{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/20-gripping-books-fiction-and-non-fiction-to-read-this-summer-1.4572827|title=20 gripping books: Fiction and non-fiction to read this summer|first=Niamh|last=Donnelly|newspaper=The Irish Times}}