An analysis of aspects of Irish politics from 1960 to 2007,

Drawing on interviews with key players and previously unused archival sources, this book offers a fascinating account of a critical period in Fine Gael's history when the party was challenged to define its place in Irish politics.

Much of the public commentary dismisses the Dáil as an irrelevant or peripheral political institution, but The Dáil in the 21st Century argues that the position of Dáil Éireann, far from declining, has actually been enhanced, particularly since the mid 1980s. Dáil Éireann's position in Irish politics has improved significantly over time. Coming from a weak base since its establishment, it has acquired a strong institutional identity, with improved resources and staff giving it a stronger voice. This book suggests a future role for the Lower House, extending its democratic reach to areas such as social partnership, an area coming under increased attention in these troubled economic times.Texts on the Dáil are rare, particularly work which examines the Dáil in the context of the fundamental shifts which have occurred in contemporary Irish politics, and this book offers a unique and fresh perspective on the Dáil and its operations.

This volumes examines two major developments in contemporary democratic politics-- the change in party-society linkage and political personalization--and their relation to each other.

Politics in the Republic of Ireland is now available in a fully revised fifth edition. Building on the success of the previous four editions, it continues to provide an authoritative introduction to all aspects of politics in the Republic of Ireland. Written by some of the foremost experts on Irish politics, it explains, analyzes and interprets the background to Irish government and contemporary political processes. Bringing students up to date with the very latest developments, Coakley and Gallagher combine real substance with a highly readable style, providing an accessible textbook that meets the needs of all those who are interested in knowing how politics and government operate in Ireland.

The focus of this book is to analyse from a number of perspectives the politics of change in Ireland north and south since 1969. The emergence of the troubles in Northern Ireland, the final push to gain entry to the EEC, changing social mores and severe economic difficulties all begin to appear on the horizon at this stage. While considerable change and, indeed, moments of extreme crisis, have taken place in areas such as Northern Ireland, the economy, moral politics, and Ireland’s attitude towards the European Union, continuity has also been a significant hallmark of Irish politics since 1969. This volume offers important perspectives and opens up new debates in explaining the phenomena of continuity, change and crisis in contemporary Ireland. New evidence on the origins of the troubles in Northern Ireland, the Arms Crisis, Ireland’s relationship with Europe, the process of social partnership, and the politics of morality all offer important fresh insights into how contemporary Ireland has functioned. Featuring a number of high profile scholars and uniquely dealing with both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, this volume argues that the intriguing feature of recent Irish history is not the absence of change but the extent to which change has been mediated by the existing political cultures, national traditions and long-standing institutions of both north and south. This book was based on a special issue of Irish Political Studies.

The continuing under-representation of women in political and public life remains a matter of concern across a wide range of countries, including the UK and Ireland. Within the UK it is a topical issue as political parties currently debate strategies, often controversial, which will increase women's representation. At the same time, devolution has ushered in significant change in the level of women's representation in Scotland and Wales and improved representation for women in Northern Ireland. That such increases in women's representation in political institutions have been slow in coming is indisputable, given that full enfranchisement of women on equal terms with men was achieved in Ireland in 1921 and in the UK in 1928.

'How do such people, with brilliant members and dull ones, fare when they pass from being a dominant minority to being a powerless one?' So asked the Kilkenny man-of-letters Hubert Butler (1900-1991) when considering the fate of Southern Protestants after Irish Independence. As both a product and critic of this culture, Butler posed the question repeatedly, refusing to accept as inevitable the marginalization of his community within the newly established state. Inspired by the example of the Revivalist generation, he challenged his compatriots to approach modern Irish identity in terms complementary rather than exclusivist. In the process of doing so, he produced a corpus of literary essays European in stature, informed by extensive travel, deep reading, and an active engagement with the political and social upheavals of his age. His insistence on the necessity of Protestant participation in Irish life, coupled with his challenges to received Catholic opinion, made him a contentious figure on both sides of the sectarian divide. This study addresses not only Butler's remarkable personal career, but also some of the larger themes to which he consistently drew attention: the need to balance Irish cosmopolitanism with local relationships; to address the compromises of the Second World War and the hypocrisies of the Cold War; to promote a society in which constructive dissent might not just be tolerated but valued. As a result, by the end of his life, Butler came to be recognised as a forerunner of the more tolerant and expansive Ireland of today.

Surveys the history of the province from the plantations of the early seventeenth century to partition and the formation of Northern Ireland in the early 1920s, and onwards to the 'Troubles' of recent decades. A major contribution to the history of Ireland and to Ulster's contested place in the British and the wider world.

This book examines the interrelated dynamics of political action, ideology and state structures in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, emphasising the wider UK and European contexts in which they are nested. It makes a significant and unique contribution to wider European and international debates over state and nation and contested borders, looking at the dialectic between political action and institutions, examining party politics, ideological struggle and institutional change. It goes beyond the binary approaches to Irish politics and looks at the deep shifts associated with major socio-political changes, such as immigration, gender equality and civil society activism. Interdisciplinary in approach, it includes contributions from across history, law, sociology and political science and draws on a rich body of knowledge and original research data. This text will be of key interest to students and scholars of Irish Politics, Society and History, British Politics, Peace and Conflict studies, Nationalism, and more broadly to European Politics.