In the 1990s, Irish society was changing and becoming increasingly international due to the rise of the 'Celtic Tiger'. At the same time, the ongoing peace process in Northern Ireland also fuelled debates on the definition of Irishness, which in turn seemed to call for a critical examination of the birth of the Irish State, as well as a rethinking and re-assessment of the nationalist past. Neil Jordan's Michael Collins (1996), the most commercially successful and talked-about Irish film of the 1990s, was a timely contributor to this process. In providing a large-scale representation of the 1916-1922 period, Michael Collins became the subject of critical and popular controversy, demonstrating that cinema could play a part in this cultural reimagining of Ireland. Locating the film in both its historical and its cinematic context, this book explores the depiction of events in Michael Collins and the film's participation in the process of reimagining Irishness through its public reception. The portrayal of the key figures of Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera comes under special scrutiny as the author assesses this pivotal piece of Irish history on screen.

In this astonishing and at times terrifying book, acclaimed writer and political commentator Martin Dillon examines for the first time the true role of religion in the conflict in Northern Ireland. He interviewed those directly involved--terrorists like Kenny McClinton and Billy Wright and churchmen like Father Pat Buckley--finding that the terrorists were more forthcoming than the priests and ministers. Dillon charts the history of the paramilitary forces on both sides and exposes the shocking covert role of British intelligence. He finds that, ultimately, both the church and government have failed their communities, allowing men and women of violence to fill a vacuum with bigotry and violence.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: A Personal Memoir -- Part I: The IRA Past as Prologue -- 1. Arms and the Volunteer -- 2. The Thompson Submachine Gun in Ireland -- 3. Proliferation: Sophisticated Weapons and Revolutionary Options -- Part II: The Irish Past as Prologue: Patterns, Probes, Wars, and Warriors -- 4. Societal Patterns and Lessons -- 5. Ireland and the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39 -- 6. The Curragh: 1940-45 -- 7. The Shadow of the Gunman, 1969 -- 8. The Secret Army, 1969 -- Part III: The Ulster Troubles Since 1969: Old Myths, Old Realities, and Alien Perspectives -- 9. The Escalation of Insurgency, 1969-71 -- 10. Strategy, Tactics, and Terror, 1969-74 -- 11. Men with Guns: The Legitimacy of Violent Dissent -- 12. Revolts Against the British Crown -- 13. On Revolt: An Irish Template -- 14 Democracy and Armed Conspiracy, 1922-77 -- 15. Terrorism: Nets and Oceans -- 16. Terror International: The Nature of the Threat -- 17. Hostage Ireland, 1976, 1982 -- Part IV: The Ulster Troubles: New Surveys, New Problems, and Analytical Perspectives -- 18. Terrorism International: Academic Branch -- 19. Contemporary Irish Archival Resources -- 20. The Chroniclers of Violence in Northern Ireland: The First Wave, 1972 -- 21. The Chroniclers of Violence in Northern Ireland Revisited, 1974 -- 22. The Troubles as Trash: Shadows of the Irish Gunman on America -- Epilogue: A Political Memoir -- Index

Irish history sounds a long litany of grievance and vengeance—lost battles, escaped earls, and institutionalized injustice. The gun, certainly in this century, has played a prominent part. In The Gun in Politics, J. Bowyer Bell presents the story of one Ireland—the Ireland of the Troubles—and about an approach to understanding political violence. In particular, he examines the Irish Republic Army, the longest-enduring unsuccessful revolutionary organization. He de-scribes the covert world of gunmen and the great game they play in the street. His is a lively, telling account of sophisticated weapons transfer, of the impact of civil war on society, and of appropriate democratic responses to terrorism. Bell's association with active Republicans, his endless tea seminars at the United Irishman, drinks at Hennessy's, and constant conversation throughout Ireland on political matters over a period of twenty years has provided the author with unique background for this guide to a fascinating, though brutal, undercurrent of Irish history.

The story of contemporary Ireland is inseparable from the story of the official republican movement, a story told here for the first time - from the clash between Catholic nationalist and socialist republicanism in the 1960s and '70s through the Workers' Party's eventual rejection of irredentism. A roll-call of influential personalities in the fields of politics, trade unionism and media - many still operating at the highest levels of Irish public life - passed though the ranks of this secretive movement, which never achieved its objectives but had a lasting influence on the landscape of Irish politics. 'A vibrant, balanced narrative' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times Books of the Year 'An indispensable handbook' Maurice Hayes, Irish Times 'Hugely impressive' Irish Mail on Sunday 'Excellent' Sunday Business Post

The third edition of Government and Politics in Ireland has been updated to take account of the political developments that have taken place in Ireland between 1981 and 1991. Amongst the topics covered are political parties, pressure groups, the government and the Dail and local government.

This is an introduction to the best available scholarship within Irish politics, featuring the most influential and significant articles which have been published on Irish politics during the past twenty years. Each article is accompanied by a new commentary by another leading scholar which addresses the impact and contribution of the article and discusses how its themes remain crucial today. The book covers all the most important topics within Irish politics including political culture and traditions, political institutions and parties and the peace process. The combination of the best original scholarship and contemporary commentaries on the core political issues makes Irish Political Studies Reader an invaluable resource for all students and scholars of Irish politics.