A Just Society for Ireland? 1964-1987

ISBN-13: 9781137022059 / Angielski / Twarda / 2013 / 254 str.

Ciara Meehan

Opis

Fine Gael's demise has been periodically predicted since 1933 and yet it has survived, becoming the largest party in the state after the 2011 election. 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. The central role played by Declan Costello is disclosed for the first time: he was never party leader, yet his Just Society proposals transformed Fine Gael by encouraging a new generation of socially-minded politicians, while his agenda for change paved the way for Garret FitzGerald. Exploring the continuities and discontinuities between Costello's Just Society and FitzGerald's Constitutional Crusade, the book documents how the internal debate shaped the party and provides an insight into the origins of an identity crisis with which Fine Gael continues to struggle.

Spis treści

Introduction 1. A New Ireland? 2. Winning the Party? 3. 1965: The First Failure 4. 1969: The Second Failure 5. From Leader in Crisis to Leader in Government 6. The National Coalition, 1973-77 7. 1980s: New Leader, New Party 8. The Constitutional Crusade 9. A Liberal Ireland? Bibliography

O autorze

Ciara Meehan is Lecturer in history at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. She was formerly Lecturer in history at University College Dublin, Ireland, where she also held an IRCHSS postdoctoral fellowship from 2009-11. She is the author of The Cosgrave Party: A History of Cumann na nGaedheal, 1923-33 (2010).