Between 1885 and 1921 the question of Irish Home Rule became increasingly focused on the province of Ulster, and especially on Ulster Unionist responses to a Dublin parliament. This book explores the making of a specifically Ulster dimension to this crisis and its impact on Ulster politics. D. George Boyce and Alan O'Day also trace its outcome in the partition of Ireland and the establishment of a Home Rule parliament in Northern Ireland - an outcome which still has resonances today.

First published in 1991, Parnell in Perspective is a collection of essays exploring the ideas and political style of Charles Stewart Parnell. Divided into two parts, the book explores Parnell’s career in detail and investigates the parliamentary and personal qualities that led to his reputation as ‘The Uncrowned King of Ireland’. It will appeal to those with an interest in Irish and British political and social history.

First published in 1991, Parnell in Perspective is a collection of essays exploring the ideas and political style of Charles Stewart Parnell. Divided into two parts, the book explores Parnell's career in detail and investigates the parliamentary and personal qualities that led to his reputation as 'The Uncrowned King of Ireland'. It will appeal to those with an interest in Irish and British political and social history.

These pioneering essays provide a unique study of the development of political ideas in Ireland from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. The book breaks away from the traditional emphasis in Irish historiography on the nationalism/unionism debate to focus instead on previously neglected areas such as the role of the Scottish Enlightenment and early Irish socialism and conservatism. A wide range of original primary sources are used from pamphlets to journalism, devotional tracts to poetry.

This wide-ranging collection brings together multiple perspectives on a key period in Irish history, from the Fenian Rising in 1867 to the creation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland in 1921, with a focus on the formation of Irish identity. The chapters, written by team of experts, focus on key individuals or ideological groups and consider how they perceived Ireland's future, what their sense of Irish identity was, and who they saw as the enemy. Providing a new angle on Ireland during the period from 1867 to 1921, this book will be important reading for all those with an interest in Irish history.

This wide-ranging collection brings together multiple perspectives on a key period in Irish history, from the Fenian Rising in 1867 to the creation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland in 1921, with a focus on the formation of Irish identity. The chapters, written by team of experts, focus on key individuals or ideological groups and consider how they perceived Ireland's future, what their sense of Irish identity was, and who they saw as the enemy. Providing a new angle on Ireland during the period from 1867 to 1921, this book will be important reading for all those with an interest in Irish history.

Defenders of the Union is a concise and readable overview of the history and contentious politics of Unionism and the affect it has had on Anglo-Irish relations over the last two hundred years. It is an essential guide to this confusing topic and covers key areas such as:
* definition of unionism
* establishment of the union
* Unionist literature
* loyalists since 1972.

Revisionism has been an important issue in Irish history for several years, as more or less partisan accounts of the Irish past have been rewritten and 'rescued' by journalists and historians of different political persuasions. This text book brings together distinguished historians from Ireland. Each contributor tackles a key question, issue or event in Irish history and:
* examines its historiography
* assesses the context of new interpretations
* considers the strengths and weaknesses of revisionist ideas
* offers their own interpretation

The introduction outlines the history of the revisionist controversy and places Ireland within a historical and contemporary context.

Revisionism has been an important issue in Irish history for several years, as varying partisan accounts of the Irish past have been rewritten and 'rescued' by journalists and historians of different political persuasions. This volume brings together distinguished historians of Ireland, each of whom tackles a key question, issue or event in Irish history since the eighteenth century and:
* examines its historiography
* assesses the context of new interpretations
* considers the strengths and weaknesses of revisionist ideas
* offers their own interpretation
Topics covered are not only of historical interest but, in the context of recent revisionist debates, of contemporary political significance.
These original contributions take account of new evidence and perspectives, as well as up-to-date historical methodology. Their combination of synthesis and analysis represent a valuable guide to the present state of the writing of modern Irish history.

These pioneering essays provide a unique study of the development of political ideas in Ireland from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. The book breaks away from the traditional emphasis in Irish historiography on the nationalism/unionism debate to focus instead on previously neglected areas such as the role of the Scottish Enlightenment and early Irish socialism and conservatism. A wide range of original primary sources are used from pamphlets to journalism, devotional tracts to poetry.

Based on extensive historical, literary and political research, this text examines the relationship between ideas and political and social reality. It explains why the aspirations of Irish nationalism have failed to modify the facts of Irish political conflict and sectarian division. For this revised edition, Professor Boyce has added a new final chapter which considers the development of nationalism in both parts of Ireland in the light of the most recent political events and places the phenomenon of nationalism in its contemporary and European setting.

This book combines an analysis of the ideas and policies that governed the British experience of decolonization. It shows how the British, perhaps more correctly the English, political tradition, with its emphasis on experience over abstract theory, was integral to the way in which the empire was regarded as being transformed rather than lost. This was a significant aspect of the relatively painless British loss of empire. It places the process of decolonization in its wider context, tracing the twentieth-century domestic and international conditions that hastened decolonization, and, through a close analysis of not only the policy choices but also the language of British imperialism, it throws new light on the British way of managing both the expansion and contraction of empire.

This work provides a comprehensive overview of the contentious politics of Unionism and the effects it has had on the relationship between Britain and Ireland over the past two centuries. By considering the history of Unionism, the Act of Union of 1801 and its aftermath, it provides a significant guide to these historical events and the continuing legacies which they have created. This book looks at the way the Union has affected Anglo-Irish and Catholic-Protestant relations and also considers its social, cultural and economic effects on Irish and British life. Key aspects which are discussed include: definition of Unionism; establishment of the Union; defending the union; and Protestant Churches and opposition to Home Rule.

How societies use the past is one of their most revealing traits. Using this insight "Ireland's Polemical Past" examines how the inhabitants of nineteenth and twentieth-century Ireland plundered their pasts for polemical reasons. The ten essays explore how revolutionaries, politicians, churchmen, artists, tourists and builders (among others) used the Irish past in creating and justifying their own position in contemporary society. The result is a varied portrait of the problems and tensions in nineteenth and early twentieth-century society that these people tried to solve by resorting to the Irish past for inspiration and justification to make their world work. This is a book that will appeal to those who have an interest in the making of modern Ireland as well as those concerned with writing about the Irish past at any level.

The Falklands War of 1982 was a small war, but one with large resonances. The Argentine invasion of the one of the few remaining British colonies on 2 April might have been prevented by a more coherent British foreign policy, better intelligence analysis, and military precautions; and once the crisis began, it could have possibly ended by negotiation. Instead it involved both countries in a short, but intense, conflict which cost the lives of 255 British, and 625 Argentine, personnel. The Falklands War - examines the interaction between military force and diplomacy, shedding light on their often hidden relationship - explores the deeply personal response of the British and Argentine public to the conflict - assesses the relationship between the Government and the media, and considers the interpretation of the war in Britain - analyses the effect of the conflict on the concept of 'Thatcher's Britain' The Falklands War exemplified what one historian has called the 'myriad faces of war'. It was the last war which Britain fought outside a coalition or an international organisation, and, far from being marginal to Britain's key role as part of the defence system against the Soviet threat, it held a mirror up to the face of the British people in the late twentieth century. Authoritative and clear, this is the ideal introduction for anyone with an interest in one of Britain's most significant military engagements, its impact and consequences.

D. George Boyce rejects the idea that Irish nationalism, or any other kind, simply "happened" at a particular time. he argues that it was the result of a long and gradually developing tradition that owed much to many diverse groups in Irish society. Boyce identifies the chief characteristics of Irish nationalism as a sense of race, religion, and territorial integrity, all of which were influenced profoundly by the power of England. The book explains how Irish nationalists had to struggle to overcome regionalism, passivity, rural backwardness, limited horizons, class differences and religious conflict, and how, in seeking a common denominator that would enable them to mobilize the "nation," nationalist leaders sacrificed their fundamental goal--the creation of an Irish nation that would embrace all classes and creeds of Irishmen.
This updated edition considers the development of nationalism in the light of recent political events and places the pheneomenon of nationalism in its contemporary European setting, stressing issues of language and religion.