The French revolution had an electrifying impact on Irish society. The 1970s saw the birth of modern Irish republicanism and Orangeism, whose antagonism remains a defining feature of Irish political life. The 1970s also saw the birth of a new approach to Ireland within important elements of the British political elite, men like Pitt and Castlereagh. Strongly influenced by Edmund Burke, they argued that Britain's strategic interests were best served by a policy of catholic emancipation and political integration in Ireland. Britain's failure to achieve this objective, dramatised by the horrifying tragedy of the Irish famine of 1846-50, in which a million Irish died, set the context for the emergence of a popular mass nationalism, expressed in the Fenian, Parnell, and Sinn Fein movements, which eventually expelled Britain from the greater part of the island.
This book reassesses all the key leaders of Irish nationalism - Tone, O'Connell, Butt, Parnell, Collins, and de Valera - alongside key British political leaders such as Peel and Gladstone in the nineteenth century, or Winston Churchill and Tony Blair in the twentieth century. A study of the changing ideological passions of the modern Irish question, this analysis is, however, firmly placed in the context of changing social and economic realities.
Using a vast range of original sources, Paul Bew holds together the worlds of political class in London, Dublin, and Belfast in one coherent analysis which takes the reader all the way from the society of the United Irishman to the crisis of the Good Friday Agreement.

The story of Charles Stewart Parnell, one of the greatest Irish leaders of the nineteenth century and also one of the most renowned figures of the 1880s on the international stage, and John Dillon, the most celebrated of Parnell's lieutenants. As Paul Bew shows, the differences between the two men reflect both Ireland's past and its future. The story of Charles Stewart Parnell, one of the greatest Irish leaders of the nineteenth century and also one of the most renowned figures of the 1880s on the international stage, and John Dillon, the most celebrated, but also the most neglected, of Parnell's lieutenants. As Paul Bew shows, the differences between the two men reflect both Ireland's past and its future. Every time the principle of consent for a united Ireland is discussed today, we can perceive the legacy of both men. Even more profoundly, that legacy can be seen when Irish nationalism tries to transcend a tribalist outlook based on the historic Catholic nation, even when the country is no longer so very Catholic.

This outstandingly successful work of reference is now brought up to date to mark the hoped-for end of the Northern Ireland Troubles. The book is a detailed account, in diary form, of the thirty-year development of civil and political unrest in Northern Ireland. It also contains a number of short essays that look back at the major events of the last thirty years, assessing their significance and setting them in context. Among these are: Bloody Sunday (1972), the collapse of the Power Sharing Executive (1974), the Republican hunger strikes (1981), the Anglo-Irish Agreement (1985), the first I.R.A. cease-fire (1994) and the historic Good Friday Agreement (1998). This chronology is the essential guide to the politics and tragic events of the last thirty years in Northern Ireland. It also includes comprehensive coverage of the Peace Process.

The Northern Ireland Peace Process 1993-1996: A Chronology records the developments of those hopeful years, charting intergovernmental talks, seemingly minor incidents whose significance became apparent only months later and dramatic political shifts and turns. Explanatory essays about the major turning points in the peace process are woven into a political diary which will become the authoritative book on the subject.

The French revolution had an electrifying impact on Irish society. The 1790s saw the birth of modern Irish republicanism and Orangeism, whose antagonism remains a defining feature of Irish political life. The 1790s also saw the birth of a new approach to Ireland within important elements of the British political elite, men like Pitt and Castlereagh. Strongly influenced by Edmund Burke, they argued that Britain's strategic interests were best served by a policy of catholic emancipation and political integration in Ireland. Britain's failure to achieve this objective, dramatized by the horrifying tragedy of the Irish famine of 1846-50, in which a million Irish died, set the context for the emergence of a popular mass nationalism, expressed in the Fenian, Parnell, and Sinn Fein movements, which eventually expelled Britain from the greater part of the island.
This book reassesses all the key leaders of Irish nationalism-Tone, O'Connell, Butt, Parnell, Collins, and de Valera - alongside key British political leaders such as Peel and Gladstone in the nineteenth century, or Winston Churchill and Tony Blair in the twentieth century. A study of the changing ideological passions of the modern Irish question, this analysis is, however, firmly placed in the context of changing social and economic realities.
Using a vast range of original sources, Paul Bew holds together the worlds of political class in London, Dublin, and Belfast in one coherent analysis which takes the reader all the way from the society of the United Irishman to the crisis of the Good Friday Agreement.

Winston Churchill spent his early childhood in Ireland, had close Irish relatives, and was himself much involved in Irish political issues for a large part of his career. He took Ireland very seriously - and not only because of its significance in the Anglo-American relationship. Churchill, in fact, probably took Ireland more seriously than Ireland took Churchill. Yet, in the fifty years since Churchill's death, there has not been a single major book on his relationship to Ireland. It is the most neglected part of his legacy, on both sides of the Irish Sea. Distinguished historian of Ireland Paul Bew now, at long last, puts this right. Churchill and Ireland tells the full story of Churchill's lifelong engagement with Ireland and the Irish, from his early years as a child in Dublin, through his central role in the Home Rule crisis of 1912-14 and in the war leading up to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1922, to his bitter disappointment at Irish neutrality in the Second World War and gradual rapprochement with his old enemy Eamon de Valera towards the end of his life. As this long overdue book reminds us, Churchill learnt his earliest rudimentary political lessons in Ireland. It was the first piece in the Churchill jigsaw and, in some respects, the last.

Winston Churchill spent his early childhood in Ireland, had close Irish relatives, and was himself much involved in Irish political issues for a large part of his career. He took Ireland very seriously - and not only because of its significance in the Anglo-American relationship. Churchill, in fact, probably took Ireland more seriously than Ireland took Churchill. Yet, in the fifty years since Churchill's death, there has not been a single major book on his relationship to Ireland. It is the most neglected part of his legacy on both sides of the Irish Sea. Distinguished historian of Ireland Paul Bew now at long last puts this right. Churchill and Ireland tells the full story of Churchill's lifelong engagement with Ireland and the Irish, from his early years as a child in Dublin, through his central role in the Home Rule crisis of 1912-14 and in the war leading up to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1922, to his bitter disappointment at Irish neutrality in the Second World War and gradual rapprochement with his old enemy Eamon de Valera towards the end of his life. As this long overdue book reminds us, Churchill learnt his earliest rudimentary political lessons in Ireland. It was the first piece in the Churchill jigsaw and, in some respects, the last.

Going right to the heart of the Irish Question, Paul Bew offers a new interpretation of Irish politics in the critical 1912-1916 period. He re-examines the issues at stake in the home rule crisis of 1912-14, arguing that the then leader of constitutional nationalism, John Redmond, possessed a plausible political strategy. Redmond's reputation has suffered from the critiques of those who argue either that he failed to conciliate Unionists, or that he lacked the requisite fighting spirit of militant nationalism. This book contains much that is a sympathetic reconstruction of Redmond's vision but it also acknowledges the seriousness of the Ulster Unionist case. Bew analyses the debate concerning land, economy, religion, language, and national identity in the period, and ends with a discussion of the Easter Rising of 1916 which destroyed Redmond's party. He draws out the political, cultural, and economic implications of this development and examines their continuing effect on Irish history.

This book explores the evolution of Irish constitutional nationalism from the fall of Parnell to the rise of Sinn Fein, when the two competing wings of conciliators and militants struggled bitterly for control of the movement. The author, stressing the grass roots dimensions of this rift, shows that while the advocates of conciliation took a peaceful path, striving to achieve a modus vivendi with the protestants who opposed home rule, the supporters of militancy stressed the need for vigilance and strict maintenance of the Catholic nationalist tradition.

It is widely argued that Britain has always followed a coherent imperialist strategy in Northern Ireland. Paul Bew and Henry Patterson take issue with this assumption in the first serious study of British policy towards Ulster over the past twenty years. They demonstrate, through a detailed examination of the twists and turns of successive governments, the fundamental incoherence of Britain's approach in its oldest colony.
Simplified notions about the consistency of British policy have led to undue pessimism amongst those advocating progressive change in the North. As a consequence they have missed real opportunities to achieve significant political realignment by exploiting the contradictions in Britain's stance.
Rejecting both the nationalist stance which defines the crisis in terms of an occupying army and the traditional bi-partisan approach which sees it only as a problem of terrorism, "The British State and the Ulster Crisis" is a brave and original contribution to a vital contemporary debate.