Leading journalist Matt Cooper examines the key players behind the scenes of Irish property ownership - who really controls the valuable land where we live, work and play and how did they acquire it? Who are the new foreign investors and why are they buying property and land in Ireland? What does it mean for ordinary citizens when the ownership of shopping centres, wind farms, forestry and data centres comes from outside? Comprehensively researched and filled with riveting detail, this compelling account of the Irish property landscape is about our offices, hotels and pubs and the power of those wealthy enough to accumulate these properties. This eye-opening book is a must-read for anyone interested in Ireland and who really owns it. 'It's not possible to understand Irish society, politics or the economy without knowing who owns land and property. Brilliantly researched and written with verve, clarity and narrative punch, Matt Cooper's study is the essential guide to the ground beneath our feet and the roofs above our heads.' Fintan O'Toole 'Land is essential for homes, and in this book Matt Cooper provides a vital interrogation of who owns and controls it and how it is impacting on the housing crisis, a must read for anyone interested in understanding Ireland's housing crisis' Rory Hearne

Through centuries of oppression, we were tenants in our own land. Today, despite our independence and new-found affluence, we are in the midst of a crisis. The question of who owns Ireland is once again taking on a sense of urgency. Is the land of Ireland still for the people of Ireland? In a deep and far-reaching investigation, journalist, broadcaster and No. 1 bestselling author Matt Cooper examines the power wielded by those who control the land where we live, work and play. Who are they, how did they acquire so much and what does it mean for ordinary citizens when the ownership of key resources like shopping centres, wind farms, forestry and data centres comes from outside? This is a story about how power and money influence and control the present and the future of Ireland ... sometimes for good and sometimes for bad. Filled with riveting detail, this compelling story of who really owns Ireland is an essential account of the issues that affect every single one of us living on this island.

It is the barbed wire entanglement that tortures yet frees in the long story of this small island on 'the dark edge of Europe'. It defined the national struggle for independence far more than any other single issue. The famine between 1845 and 1850 killed a million of the island's population of 8 million and drove another million into exile. This event chopped Irish history in half, demonstrating as nothing else could that without security of tenure for a normal life span you were at the mercy of landowners. This book is not about the famine, but about the key event that followed it: the extraordinary redistribution of land from mainly aristocratic landed estates to small farmers. This redistribution took over 150 years, from famine's end to the closure of the Land Commission in 1999, and was achieved with some civility and far less violence than the actual independence struggle itself. Who Owns Ireland is a startling expose of Ireland's most valuable asset: its land. Kevin Cahill's investigations reveal the breakdown of ownership of the land itself across all thirty-two counties, and show the startling truth about the people and institutions who own the ground beneath our feet.

THE HISTORY OF IRELAND IS LACERATED, TOP TO BOTTOM, BY LAND. It is the barbed wire entanglement that tortures yet frees in the long story of this small island on ‘the dark edge of Europe’. It defined the national struggle for independence far more than any other single issue. The famine between 1845 and 1850 killed a million of the island’s population of 8 million and drove another million into exile. This event chopped Irish history in half, demonstrating as nothing else could that without security of tenure for a normal life span you were at the mercy of landowners. This book is not about the famine, but about the key event that followed it: the extraordinary redistribution of land from mainly aristocratic landed estates to small farmers. This redistribution took over 150 years, from famine’s end to the closure of the Land Commission in 1999, and was achieved with some civility and far less violence than the actual independence struggle itself. Who Owns Ireland is a startling expose of Ireland’s most valuable asset: its land. Kevin Cahill’s investigations reveal the breakdown of ownership of the land itself across all thirty-two counties, and show the startling truth about the people and institutions who own the ground beneath our feet.

A startling expose of Britain's most valuable asset - its land. Kevin Cahill's investigations reveal how the 6000 or so landowners -mostly aristocrats, but also large institutions and the Crown - own about 40 million acres, more than half the country, and have maintained their grip on the land right throughout the 20th century.

Having money and not having it; making it and losing it; using it and misusing it; giving it and taking it . . . this is the story of Ireland during the boom, described in jaw-dropping detail in Who Runs Ireland? Leading journalist Matt Cooper has consistently broken stories that the powerful would prefer had not been disclosed. Now, he identifies the most powerful people in Ireland during the Celtic Tiger era, describes how they interacted with each other to mutual benefit, and reveals who are the few to retain their power amid the debris arising from the bursting of our economic bubble. In particular, Cooper focuses on the role of new-found wealth in Ireland and examines how the volume of money sloshing about influenced the exercise of power, sometimes in ways that were to the detriment of the larger society. Cooper reveals stories you will not have read before, makes the connections you may not have spotted and provides insights and explanations to stories you may have forgotten that uncover what really goes on.

Richard English's brilliant new book, now available in paperback, is a compelling narrative history of Irish nationalism, in which events are not merely recounted but analysed. Full of rich detail, drawn from years of original research and also from the extensive specialist literature on the subject, it offers explanations of why Irish nationalists have believed and acted as they have, why their ideas and strategies have changed over time, and what effect Irish nationalism has had in shaping modern Ireland. It takes us from the Ulster Plantation to Home Rule, from the Famine of 1847 to the Hunger Strikes of the 1970s, from Parnell to Pearse, from Wolfe Tone to Gerry Adams, from the bitter struggle of the Civil War to the uneasy peace of the early twenty-first century. Is it imaginable that Ireland might – as some have suggested – be about to enter a post-nationalist period? Or will Irish nationalism remain a defining force on the island in future years? 'a courageous and successful attempt to synthesise the entire story between two covers for the neophyte and for the exhausted specialist alike' Tom Garvin, Irish Times