Ireland, 1912-1985: Politics and SocietyThis is the first major study on this scale of Irish performance, North and South, in the twentieth century. Although stressing the primacy of politics in Irish public affairs, it argues that Irish politics must be understood in the broad context of economic, social, administrative, cultural, and intellectual history. The book fully explores the relationship between rhetoric and reality in the Irish mind and views political behavior largely as a product of collective psychology. "The Irish experience" is placed firmly in a comparative context. The book seeks to assess the relative importance of British influence and of indigenous impulses in shaping an independent Ireland, and to identify the relationship between personality and process in determining Irish history. Particularly close attention is paid to individuals such as Eamon de Valera, Michael Collins, W.T. Cosgrove, Sir James Craig, J.J. McElligott, Sean Lemass, Terence O'Neill, and Ian Paisley, and to the limits within which even the most powerful personalities were forced to operate. |
Contents
19121922 I | 1 |
19221932 | 56 |
19321945 | 175 |
19451958 | 271 |
19581969 | 329 |
19451985 | 411 |
1969? | 458 |
PERSPECTIVES | 511 |
A matter of force 1 | 1 |
Stalking the wild rainbow 23 | 23 |
Light 32 | 32 |
Maybe Im Heisenberg 51 | 51 |
Colour me red green and blue 207 | 207 |
Smashing symmetry 219 | 219 |
How much is infinity minus infinity? 249 | 249 |
Excelsior The ascent to SU0 269 | 269 |
688 | |
731 | |
Introduction xvii | 767 |
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Common terms and phrases
achieved administrative agricultural anti-Treaty appointed April army Belfast Blueshirts Britain British cabinet Catholic cent Church circumstances civil service claim Collins Commission Committee constitution Cork Cosgrave Cosgrave's Council Craig culture Cumann na nGaedheal Dáil December demand Department Dublin economic election electoral emigration English Eoin MacNeill Ernest Blythe European exports farmers February Fianna Fáil Finance Fine Gael Free Gael growth Haughey home rule Ibid Industry and Commerce intellectual Irish Free Irish Independent Irish politics Irish Press issue January June Kevin O'Higgins Labour leader London Lynch MacEntee MacNeill majority March McElligott memo ment Minister Mulcahy nationalist neutrality Northern Ireland O'Brien O'Higgins organisation party performance population potential problem programme Redmond remained Republic republican response Rising role Seán Lemass sector Sinn Féin social society Taoiseach Treaty Ulster Protestants Ulster unionists unemployment Valera vote W.T. Cosgrave