Ireland’s Histories

Aspects of State, Society and Ideology

Seán Hutton, Paul Stewart

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9781041384397
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781042522385
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Economic History
• Index: History

First published in 1991, Ireland's Histories examines aspects of the politics, society, and ideology of Ireland from a radical perspective. It addresses key historiographical issues, as well as key moments and aspects of the two states in Ireland. Among the many issues addressed are the history of Irish women in Ireland and abroad, and the politics and ideology of the Protestant working class, including its relationship to the Northern Ireland state. It brings together writing from several different and competing perspectives on the formation and development of Irish politics, ideologies, and society. Together, these added up to a questioning contribution to contemporary debates on modern Irish history.

The book will be valuable for students and researchers of Irish studies, as well as those with a general interest in Irish issues.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Notes on contributors
• Preface
• 1 Introduction: perspectives on Irish history and social studies
• 2 Nationalist historiography and the decline of the Irish economy: George O’Brien revisited
• 3 A Saorstát is born: how the Irish Free State came into being
• 4 Labour in the post-independence Irish state: an overview
• 5 The Irish Constitution of 1937
• 6 Industrial development and the unmaking of the Irish working class
• 7 The Protestant working class and the state in Northern Ireland since 1930: a problematic relationship
• 8 Tearing the house down: religion and employment in the Northern Ireland Housing Executive
• 9 The women’s movement in the north of Ireland: twenty years on
• 10 The demolition squad: Bew, Gibbon and Patterson on the Northern Ireland state
• 11 The jerrybuilders: Bew, Gibbon and Patterson – the Protestant working class and the Northern Ireland state
• 12 Patrick MacGill: the making of a writer
• 13 Bringing the margins into the centre: a review of aspects of Irish women’s emigration
• 14 Missing the boat: the Labour party and the Irish question
• Index