First delivered as part of an international conference held at Brest University in November 2007—under the aegis of the Centre de Recherche Bretonne et Celtique (CRBC)—, this collection of essays essentially aims at interrogating history in order to better understand the political and ideological complexity of early XXIst-century Ireland. This complexity reflects, in many respects, Ireland’s uniqueness among the Western European nations. Some of the multiple persuasions within the gamut of Irish political ideology, from the Enlightenment to the present, are thus explored from diverse angles of approach—dialectical, taxonomic, theoretical, practical, individual, collective—, and through a diverse range of disciplines—human sciences, political science, social sciences, literature, philosophy and art history—and themes—from Jonathan Swift’s rhetorical complexity to the evolution of Irish republicanism after 9/11, including the reassessment of Daniel O’Connell’s political ideology, Owenism in Ireland, Oscar Wilde’s socialistic ideology, the ideological development of the Republican and Loyalist prisoners… This unique collection of essays, far from being a static historiographical description, provides food for thought and sheds light on the fascinating ambivalent dynamics lying at the heart of the building process of a modern nation resulting from the aggregate of individual will, collective ideals and Zeitgeist. The impressive variety of issues raised by authors of diverse origins (United States, Ireland, Britain, France), including leading experts in the above-mentioned areas (Richard English, Robert Mahony, Jonathan Tonge, Kieran Allen, John Sloan, Christopher Murray, Vincent Geoghegan…), therefore, widely contributes to the fact that the present book will be intellectually stimulating and enlightening, at least as an introduction, for all the students and scholars of Irish studies and other related disciplines.

This collection of essays arising out of a seminar organized by the Folger Library, Washington, provides an in-depth analysis of the period's writings. It looks at the work of Spenser and other colonial writers but also at the work of more neglected Irish writers, attempting to discern what they thought about their country and its predicament.

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.

Professor Tom Garvin's classic work studies the growth of nationalism in Ireland from the middle of the eighteenth century to modern times. It traces the continuity of tradition from earlier organisations, such as the United Irishmen and the agrarian Ribbonmen of the eighteenth century, through the followers of Daniel O'Connell, the Fenians and the Land League in the nineteenth century to the Irish political parties of today, including Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil, Labour Party and Fine Gael. The dual nature of Irish nationalism is shown in sharp focus. Despite the secular and liberal leanings of many Irish leaders and theoreticians, their followers were frequently sectarian and conservative in social outlook. This book demonstrates how this dual legacy has influenced the politics of modern Ireland. The Evolution of Irish Nationalist Politics: Table of Contents - Irish parties and Irish politics The Irish republic: post-colonial politics in a western European state Political culture and political organisation Geography, economics and method - The origins of Irish popular politics Roots of Irish popular nationalism The beginnings of urban radical political organisation, 1750–1800 Agrarianism, religion and revolution, 1760–1800 - The development of nationalist popular politics, 1800–48 Secret societies before the Famine: the rise of Ribbonism Political mobilisation in pre-Famine nationalist Ireland - Secret societies and party politics after the Famine The social background Electoral politics after the Famine The recrudescence of republicanism: Fenianism and the Agrarians The IRB and Irish politics after the Land War - Agrarianism, nationalism and party politics, 1874–95 Political mobilisation and the agrarian campaign The development of the Irish National League The Parnell split: the collapse of the Irish National League - The reconstruction of nationalist politics, 1891–1910 The rebuilding of the parliamentary party The rise of the Hibernians - The new nationalism and military conspiracy, 1900–16 The development of cultural nationalism and the origins of Sinn Féin Fenians, Volunteers and insurrection - Elections, revolution and civil war, 1916–23 The rise of Sinn Féin The electoral landslide of December 1918 The Republic of Ireland, 1919–23 - The origins of the party system in independent Ireland The ancestry of the Irish party system The legitimation of the state and the building of political parties - An analysis of electoral politics, 1923–48 Parties and elections in the Irish Free State Turnout, 1922–44 Sinn Féin III/Fianna Fáil Cumann na nGaedheal/Fine Gael The Labour Party The farmers' parties The break-up of the Treaty party system - The roots of party and government in independent Ireland The central place of party in Irish politics Party and the physical force tradition The evolution of the Irish state Party and government in independent Ireland - Some comparative perspectives Liberal democracy The party system in comparative perspective

Ideologies and identities are central to the organisation of political life and political conflict, yet most empirical studies tend to obscure their significance. This failure to take the politics of identity seriously arises from an absence of adequate theory and method. This 1996 study draws on both social theory and psychological (especially psychoanalytic) theory in an attempt to overcome these lacunae. First, it develops a novel theory and method for the analysis of ideology and identity. Second, it develops a detailed analysis of the politics of identity in Northern Ireland through focusing upon Unionist ideology and Unionist identities in crisis. The political conflict within Unionism is analysed through a consideration of the variety of unconscious rules drawn upon by political actors and citizens in the making of Northern Ireland's history of the late 1980s.

Building on the success of the first two editions, Politics in the Republic of Ireland continues to provide an authoritative introduction to all aspects of politics in the Irish Republic.