‘The Ends of Ireland’ considers the work of a key group of critics emerging from Ireland through the 1980s and 1990s: Seamus Deane, Luke Gibbons, David Lloyd, W. J. McCormack, Gerardine Meaney and Emer Nolan. As the main representatives of the turn to theory in Irish Studies these critics have examined Irish culture in the light of ideas taken from psychoanalysis, feminism, Marxism and postcolonialism. In a series of incisive yet accessible chapters Carville analyses the way in which these often provocative ideas have been put to work in the Irish context, transforming our understanding of writers like Joyce and Beckett, as well as informing broader debates around nationalism, modernization, memory and historical revisionism. Essential reading for anyone concerned with Irish Studies and its relationship with theory, the issues raised by ‘The Ends of Ireland’ set a new agenda for Irish Studies in the coming times.
South-west Donegal, Ireland, June 1856. From the time that the blight first came on the potatoes in 1845, armed and masked men dubbed Molly Maguires had been raiding the houses of people deemed to be taking advantage of the rural poor. On some occasions, they represented themselves as 'Molly's Sons', sent by their mother, to carry out justice; on others, a man attired as a woman, introducing 'herself' as Molly Maguire, demanding redress for wrongs inflicted on her children. The raiders might stipulate the maximum price at which provisions were to be sold, warn against the eviction of tenants, or demand that an evicted family be reinstated to their holding. People who refused to meet their demands were often viciously beaten and, in some instances, killed -- offences that the Constabulary classified as 'outrages'. Catholic clergymen regularly denounced the Mollies and in 1853, the district was proclaimed under the Crime and Outrage (Ireland) Act. Yet the 'outrages' continued. Then, in 1856, Patrick McGlynn, a young schoolmaster, suddenly turned informer on the Mollies, precipitating dozens of arrests. Here, a history of McGlynn's informing, backlit by episodes over the previous two decades, sheds light on that wave of outrage, its origins and outcomes, the meaning and the memory of it. More specifically, it illuminates the end of 'outrage' -- the shifting objectives of those who engaged in it, and also how, after hunger faded and disease abated, tensions emerged in the Molly Maguires, when one element sought to curtail such activity, while another sought, unsuccessfully, to expand it. And in that contention, when the opportunities of post-Famine society were coming into view, one glimpses the end, or at least an ebbing, of outrage -- in the everyday sense of moral indignation -- at the fate of the rural poor. But, at heart, The End of Outrage is about contention among neighbours -- a family that rose from the ashes of a mode of living, those consumed in the conflagration, and those who lost much but not all. Ultimately, the concern is how the poor themselves came to terms with their loss: how their own outrage at what had been done unto them and their forbears lost malignancy, and eventually ended. The author being a native of the small community that is the focus of The End of Outrage makes it an extraordinarily intimate and absorbing history.
This book is the 9th volume in the established How Ireland Voted series and provides the definitive story of Ireland’s mould-breaking 2020 election. For the first time ever, Sinn Féin won the most votes, the previously dominant parties shrank to a fraction of their former strengths, and the government to emerge was a coalition between previously irreconcilable enemies. For these reasons, the election marks the end of an era in Irish politics. This book analyses the course of the campaign, the parties’ gains and losses, and the impact of issues, especially the role of Brexit. Voting behaviour is explored in depth, with examination of the role of issues and discussion of the role of social cleavages such as class, age and education. The process by which the government was put together over a period of nearly five months is traced through in-depth interviews with participants. And six candidates who contested Election 2020 give first-hand reports of their campaigns.
In the twenty years after Ireland joined the UN in 1955, one subject dominated its fortunes: Africa. The first detailed study of Ireland’s relationship with that continent, this book documents its special place in Irish history. Adopting a highly original, and strongly comparative approach, it shows how small and middling powers like Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands and the Nordic states used Africa to shape their position in the international system, and how their influence waned with the rise of the Afro-Asian bloc. O’Sullivan chronicles Africa’s impact on Irish foreign policy; the link between African decolonisation and Irish post-colonial identity; and the missionaries, aid workers, diplomats, peacekeepers, and anti-apartheid protesters at the heart of Irish popular understanding of the developing world. Offering a fascinating account of small state diplomacy, and a unique perspective on African decolonisation, this book provides essential insight for scholars of Irish history, African history, international relations, and the history of NGOs, as well as anyone interested in Africa’s important place in the Irish public imagination.
In 1949, Ireland left the Commonwealth and the British Empire began its long fragmentation. The relationship between the new Republic of Ireland and Britain was a complex one however, and the traditional assumption that the Republic would universally support self-determination overseas and object to 'imperialism' does not hold up to historical scrutiny. In reality, for economic and geopolitical reasons, the Republic of Ireland played an important role in supporting the Empire- demonstrated clearly in Ireland's active involvement in the Cyprus Emergency of the 1950s. As Helen O'Shea reveals, while the IRA formed immediate links with EOKA and the Cypriot rebels, the Irish government and the Irish Church supported the British line- which was to retain Cyprus as the Middle-Eastern base of the British Empire following the loss of Egypt. Ireland and the End of the British Empire challenges the received historiography of the period and constitutes a valuable addition to our understanding of Ireland and the British Empire.
Many thousands of Irish peasants fled from the country in the terrible famine winter of 1847-48, following the road to the ports and the Liverpool ferries to make the dangerous passage across the Atlantic. The human toll of "Black '47," the worst year of the famine, is notorious, but the lives of the emigrants themselves have remained largely hidden, untold because of their previous obscurity and deep poverty. In The End of Hidden Ireland, Scally brings their lives to light. Focusing on the townland of Ballykilcline in Roscommon, Scally offers a richly detailed portrait of Irish rural life on the eve of the catastrophe. From their internal lives and values, to their violent conflict with the English Crown, from rent strikes to the potato blight, he takes the emigrants on each stage of their journey out of Ireland to New York. Along the way, he offers rare insights into the character and mentality of the immigrants as they arrived in America in their millions during the famine years. Hailed as a distinguished work of social history, this book also is a tale of adventure and human survival, one that does justice to a tragic generation with sympathy but without sentiment.
The second edition of Steven Ellis's formidable work represents not only a survey, but also a critique of traditional perspectives on the making of modern Ireland. It explores Ireland both as a frontier society divided between English and Gaelic worlds, and also as a problem of government within the wider Tudor state. This edition includes two major new chapters: the first extending the coverage back a generation, to assess the impact on English Ireland of the crisis of lordship that accompanied the Lancastrian collapse in France and England; and the second greatly extending the material on the Gaelic response to Tudor expansion.
Exploring Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way is essential reading for anyone planning to visit the Atlantic coast of Ireland. Whether looking for ideas for weekend adventures or visiting from abroad you will find everything you need within this guide.At over 2500km, The Wild Atlantic Way is the world's longest defined coastal touring route, travelling the full length of the west coast of Ireland, taking in some of the most breathtaking scenery imaginable. The route is alive with literature, music, stories, and surf. Its landscape, flora, fauna, and sheer size have inspired everyone from WB Yeats to John Lennon. Just a few highlights include the UNESCO World Heritage site Skellig Michael; the largest karst landscape in the world, The Burren; and the traditional Irish towns dotted along our western coast. This book's focus is on the outdoors - on getting out into the fresh air, the wind, the sun and the rain - and experiencing the incredible natural beauty found everywhere along the coast. It is full of spectacular photos, helpful maps and detailed information on the west coast's best sights, from the most famous landmarks to the hidden gems on this awe inspiring route.
'You've had some pretty crazy ideas in your life, Newby, but this is the craziest.' Grandmother Wanda Newby was exasperated after continuous rain, snow, and gales that knocked from her bike. Twice.
Despite an ever-expanding literature on Irish castles, the relationships between the castle building tradition in Ireland and those of contemporary Europe have attracted very little attention among Irish scholars. This book seeks to remedy this by approaching the corpus of Irish castles as a non-Irish scholar might do. Is there a case for dating the first castles in Ireland to the tenth century in line with the revised chronology of castle-building on the Continent? Are castles in Ireland typical of their periods by contemporary standards in England and France in particular? Are any castles in Ireland genuinely innovative or radical by those contemporary standards? What inferences about Ireland's place in medieval Europe can be drawn from the evidence of its castles and their forms?
