'Baird was an outstanding figure amongst the 'rotten Prods' but he represented an element of the Protestant working class who were radicalised by the political ferment of the post-war years and whose history O'Connor's book brings out of the shadows.' - Peter Connell, Sound Post, Winter 2023.; 'Emmet O'Connor has successfully retrieved a remarkable leader and his times from history's dustbin. Baird deserves to be remembered; this book should be read.' - History Ireland, March 2023.; 'His is a rare story, not just of a man too radical for Belfast but of one of the subalterns of the failed and forgotten social revolution of 1917-23.' - Belfast Telegraph, December 2022.; 'An eloquent memorial to the man Jim Larkin described as "a sober, intelligent and strangely honest and courageous spokesman for his class".' - Henry Patterson, Dublin Review of Books, December 2022.; 'Recounts the history of an exceptional man who was also typical of many Ulster Protestant trade unionists in becoming radicalised & in concluding that partition was not in the interest of the working class.' - Martin Doyle, The Irish Times, December 2022.; 'O'Connor's study offers a detailed account of the turbulent years surrounding the emergence of a partitioned Ireland, and an insight into a marginalised group of labour activists who paid a heavy price for their commitment.' - Dr Mike Mecham, Society for the Study of Labour History, January 2023.; 'Emmet O'Connor has successfully retrieved a remarkable leader and his times from history's dustbin. Baird deserves to be remembered; this book should be read.' - Niall Meehan, History Ireland, March 2023.; ‘“Rotten Prod” immerses the reader in a rollercoaster of political tension, tumult and turbulence, introducing us to a very determined, awkward, single minded and probably difficult customer who operated during the political upheaval at the birth of both the Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State.’ - Brian Campfield, Saothar ILHS, 2024.; ‘One sentence sums up much of what the book is about: “Like the militancy and radicalism of 1917–23 Baird was consigned to the dustbin of history.”’ - Peter Collins, Familia. Ulster Genealogical Review No. 39, 2023.