This book covers a unique, yet virtually ignored episode in Irish history—the efforts by intellectuals to influence and shape in a radical way the policies and direction of a major political party. Between 1932 and 1934, Michael Tierney and James Hogan, both university academics, exploited the opportunity offered by the formation of the Blueshirts and Fine Gael to promote their views for an alternative social, economic and political order. This order was inspired by Catholic social teachings, in particular those enunciated by Pope Pius XI in his encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, issued in 1931. In it the pontiff had advocated a social system which sought to reconcile the conflicting interests of capital and labour by essentially giving representation to the various economic interests in society by organising them according to their vocational groupings. With ideas rooted in contemporary Catholic social and political philosophy, especially Catholic corporatism or vocationalism, Tierney and Hogan intended that Fine Gael become the vehicle for the promotion of their ideas. In effect, they virtually hijacked the objectives of the party. Under their influence and that of others, including Eoin O’Duffy and Ernest Blythe, Fine Gael adopted corporate principles and began the process of formulating policies to give practical expression to them. Among those the party produced was a detailed labour policy. The advocates of corporatism, though always a tiny minority within the party, enjoyed a disproportionate influence. They contributed, however, to divisions within Fine Gael during a turbulent period in Irish politics. Moreover, the party’s opponents in Fianna Fail and the labour movement successfully characterised it as advocating fascism. Their ultimate failure has obscured the significance of the achievement of Hogan, Tierney and their allies. They transformed Fine Gael into a political party with a radical and distinct ideological programme and succeeded in giving Irish politics, for a brief period in the 1930s, a new dimension and vibrancy.

Most of the prominent figures from Ireland's revolutionary generation have been endlessly profiled and commemorated but the controversial General Eoin O'Duffy remains a pariah. Despite reaching the heights of leadership in the republican movement during the Irish revolutionary period--and subsequently becoming a key state-builder in early independent Ireland as head of the national police force--O'Duffy's legacy retains a whiff of sulphur. It has been tarnished by his controversial political career in the 1930s, including his leadership of the fascistic Blueshirts and his pro-Franco involvement in the Spanish Civil War. Using a blend of well-charted and previously overlooked or unavailable material, this book examines the tumultuous periods of Ireland's struggle for independence and the early Irish Free State. It foregrounds O'Duffy's place within pro-treaty Irish nationalism. A militarist and supporter of Michael Collins, he became a safe pair of hands relied upon to rescue the pro-treaty regime during crises.The book offers new interpretations on his involvement with international fascism and provides a much needed nuance on the prevalence of crypto-fascist outlooks in the 1930s. It seeks to blow away the cobwebs of mythology and recalibrate our understanding of this most controversial Irishman.

This book offers a timely, and fresh historical perspective on the politics of independent Ireland. Interwar Ireland’s politics have been caricatured as an anomaly, with the distinction between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael bewildering political commentators and scholars alike. It is common for Ireland’s politics to be presented as an anomaly that compare unfavourably to the neat left/right cleavages evident in Britain and much of Europe. By offering an historical re-appraisal of the Irish Free State’s politics, anchored in the wider context of inter-war Europe, Mel Farrell argues that the Irish party system is not unique in having two dominant parties capable of adapting to changing circumstances, and suggests that this has been a key strength of Irish democracy. Moreover, the book challenges the tired cliché of ‘Civil War Politics’ by demonstrating that events subsequent to Civil War led the Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil cleavage dominant in the twentieth-century.

Every year, the Bibliography catalogues the most important new publications, historiographical monographs, and journal articles throughout the world, extending from prehistory and ancient history to the most recent contemporary historical studies. Within the systematic classification according to epoch, region, and historical discipline, works are also listed according to author’s name and characteristic keywords in their title.

John Hearne: Architect of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland is the first-ever biography of the ‘architect in chief and draftsman’ of the constitution. In the six-year period that it took to draft the constitution, John Hearne was involved at every stage alongside Éamon de Valera; his attitudes and concerns – especially with the protection of human rights in a period which saw the rise of dictatorships throughout Europe – governed the make-up of the fundamental law. This law still stands today and reverberates through every call for referendum or repeal. John Hearne is the biography of a man, later Irish Ambassador to Canada and the United States, who masterminded Irish policy, nationally and internationally, for decades; his essential role in the making of the constitution will result in a greater understanding and re-evaluation of one of its most defining and controversial documents.

This new study of senates in small powers across the North Atlantic shows that the establishment and the reform of these upper legislative houses have followed remarkably parallel trajectories. Senate reforms emerged in the wake of deep political crises within the North Atlantic world and were influenced by the comparatively weak positions of small powers. Reformers responded to crises and constantly looked beyond borders and oceans for inspiration to keep their senates relevant. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429323119, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Freedom in the World contains both comparative ratings and written narratives and is now the standard reference work for measuring the progress and decline in political rights and civil liberties on a global basis.