The Transformation Of Ireland

From Publishers Weeklythis Book Isn'T A Political History Of 20Thcentury Ireland; It'S More A Chronicle Of The Social Reaction To The Events That Shaped That Century. Perhaps The Most Interesting Part Covers The Last 40 Years Of The Century. In 1959 The Brilliant Sen Lemass Finally Became Prime Minister And Set The Tone For The Future By Finding Bright, Young Ministers And Letting Them Run Their Departments Without Interference. The Dark Side Of Irish Life Is Also Explored: The Church/State Role In The Magdalen Laundries, Cleric Pedophilia And Other Secrets That Have Come To Light In The Last Decade. And A Very Deep Feminist Streak Informs The Text, From The War Of Independence, To The Fight For Birth Control In The 1970S, And The Election Of Two Women Presidents In The Last 15 Years. No Stone Of Social Significance Is Left Unturned, Be It The Problems Of The Traveling People (Gypsies), Crooked Politicians Or The Needs Of The Urban Poor. This Book Can Be A Rogues' Gallery At Times And A Good Knowledge Of Irish History Is Helpful But Not Necessary. Ferriter (Coauthor, The Irish Famine), A Lecturer In History At St. Patrick'S College, Dublin City University, Has Written An Informative, Funny, At Times Derisive Book That Takes A Fresh Approach To 20Thcentury Ireland. (Oct.)Copyright Reed Business Information, A Division Of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.Product Descriptionfrom Booklistwhen Considering Ireland During The Twentieth Century, Most People Will Think First Of The Easter Uprising, The Late Troubles In Ulster, Or Michael Collins, Tailormade For Future Movies, As Historian Ferriter Comments. But Ferriter Doesn'T Approach History Along Paths Made By Headlines And Personalities, Instead Following The Wider Routes Taken By The Irish People Over The Century Just Past. Thus, The Obsession Of Historians With Politics Is Minimally Present In Ferriter'S Assessment, Dominating To Be Sure His Treatment Of The Violence During The Years 191623, But Otherwise Dormant But For A Necessary Mention Of An Election Or Corrupt Politician. Above All, Ferriter Dwells On Poverty And The Slow Rise Since 1900 From Angela'S Ashesstyle Destitution To Its Contemporary Level Of Reasonable Prosperity. However, Ferriter'S Topical Emphasis Is Not Relentlessly Grim. He Inserts Pungent Subheads, Drawn From Some Ordinary Person'S Pointed Comment About His Or Her Social Situation, To Organize The Text And Keep It Real. Lightly Wearing His Comprehensive Research, Ferriter Will Merit The Attention Of Anyone Interested In Irish Social, Economic, And Religious History. Gilbert Taylorcopyright American Library Association. All Rights Reservedfrom The Publisherthe Comprehensive, Vividly Detailed, Largecanvas Narrative History Of The Century Of Turbulent Change In Ireland.About The Authordiarmaid Ferriter Is Professor Of Modern Irish History At University College, Dublin. He Has Written A Number Of Books On Irish History, Including The Transformation Of Ireland 19002000, Occasions Of Sin: Sex & Society In Modern Ireland, And Ambiguous Republic: Ireland In The 1970S. In 2010 He Presented The Rte Tv Series The Limits Of Liberty.