Irish nationalism: A history of its roots and ideology

Cronin attempts a very difficult task, cataloging Irish nationalism in terms of its roots and ideology, and for the most part, I believe he succeeds. Straightaway, he provides forty pages of introductory material for the reader as a kind of whirlwind crash-course on Irish history. From there, Cronin focuses on specifics. First, Wolfe Tone and the United Irishman. Next, the Young Ireland movement, the late 19th / early 20th century battle for independence, the post Anglo-Irish Treaty ramifications, the climate in Northern Ireland during the 1970s, and finally, his own conclusions. Cronin includes notes, appendices, and a glossary to assist the reader as well. Though I think the book is quite good and certainly worth owning, I have two major criticisms: a) the book is dated at this point and b) Cronin's writing becomes biased in a few passages. This book was published in 1981 so suffice it to say that a great many pertinent, weighty events have occured in Northern Irish history since then. That's the first setback. The second is even more off-putting for me. There are passages that suggest (to me anyway) that Cronin is writing from what I would label an anti-Treaty, pro-de Valera, pro-ideological purity side. In the end, however, I feel Cronin's conclusions are sound. On page 236, he writes, "The ideology of Irish nationalism will continue to ripple the political waters until its conception of nationhood is achieved: when all in Ireland can live as citizens under their own government in their own state." With more than twenty years of hindsight on Cronin's work, I think history has proven his statement right.