Presents the history of Ireland (1900-2000). This book examines politics and political parties. It deals with the North in a comprehensive way, focusing on the social and cultural aspects, not just the obvious political and religious divisions.

"Of course, I wrote most of the Constitution myself. I remember hesitating for a long time over the American Presidential system. But it wouldn't have done - we were too trained in English democracy to sit down under a dictatorship, which is what the American system really is - Ministers not responsible to parliament - that would never do. Besides, I wanted to prepare a nice quiet job without too much work for my old age.... Still, I admit I was tempted - look at the way de Gaulle rules France...absolute rule...very efficient." - Eamon de Valera, Churchill College Cambridge Archives,...

'Anyone who wishes to understand why Brexit is so intractable should read this book. I can think of several MPs who ought to.' The Times For the past two decades, you could cross the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic half a dozen times without noticing or, indeed, turning off the road you were travelling. It cuts through fields, winds back-and-forth across roads, and wends from Carlingford Lough to Lough Foyle. It is frictionless - a feat sealed by the Good Friday Agreement. Before that, watchtowers loomed over border communities, military checkpoints dotted the roads, and...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ONSIDE NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018 The islands off the coast of Ireland have long been a source of fascination. Seen as repositories of an ancient Irish culture and the epitome of Irish romanticism, they have attracted generations of scholars, artists and filmmakers, from James Joyce to Robert O'Flaherty, looking for a way of life uncontaminated by modernity or materialism. But the reality for islanders has been a lot more complex. They faced poverty, hardship and official hostility, even while being expected to preserve an ancient culture and way of life....