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...

This multi-disciplinary collection brings together work by scholars from Britain, America and Canada on the popular, personal and institutional histories of pregnancy. The contributors explore several key themes: narratives of pregnancy and birth, the patient-consumer, and literary representations of childbearing.