Modern Ireland: 1600-1972

I found the book somewhat dry, and surprisingly unpassionate, given its subject matter, but neverthless a good handbook as far as a grasp of the main issues of Irish history are concerned. In an academic setting, nevertheless, I thought it indispensable.

Roy Foster's volume is one of the most beautifully written and compelling histories on any subject one could hope to read. He succeeds brilliantly in his stated aim of going beyond a straight historical narrative into examining how the events of Irish history (1600 - early 1970s) effected the people and (most crucially) shaped, for good and for bad, their view of themselves and their place in these events. His most trenchant and consistent stance is a remorseless questioning of the myth-mongering and self-exaltation that has shaped, arguably warped, the self image of members of all sections of the island's population, leading to the adoption of stances and states of mind that make conflict and unbending dogmatism so hard to root out. In particular his analysis of the myopia and double-think that self-proclaimed 'pure' Republicanism demanded of its followers makes for sobering reading for anyone who still thinks that Ireland's is a simple story. The dire consequences of Partition for the Catholic/Republican minority under the Ulster statelet are well illustrated, but equally the fact that it contributed in huge measure to the creation and maintenance of a stable and largely unified independent Irish state. Equally thought provoking is his highlighting of the contradictions of that strand of nationalism that defined itself in strictly Gaelic and Catholic terms yet demanded the allegiance and incorporation of those Irish whose self-identification was very different and thus viewed as 'illegitimate' by these same terms. The bigotry and paranoia that has marked part of the northern protestant unionist mindset are well depicted, but so too are the particular Republican stances and post-Independence policies that did much to feed and (in their terms) justify it. Foster is trenchant in showing how Republicanism has found it so much easier to aim it's attacks on a British Government that (however reluctantly) had put unpartitioned 32 county Home Rule on the table prior to 1916 than on an Irish minority whose resistance to the Republican view of their proper and true destiny made this impossible. This final post-Parnell section is probably the books most absorbing, dealing as it does with issues of recent and contemporary resonance, but the rest of the book no less enthralling. The only area perhaps not covered fully enough, in view of the subject's ongoing contentiousness, are the causes (not the effects) of the Famine's catastrophic outcome. An essential read, biased only in the direction of challenging received assumptions.

This is not only the best available work on modern Irish history but a wonderful example of how to give impartial treatment to a highly controversial topic. Many myths surround the Irish past, but Foster successfully strips them away. He is not afraid to criticise the post-1922 Irish state and politicians such as de Valera when necessary, but he establishes beyond doubt that the record of British rule in Ireland before that date was patchy and unwholesome at best, ignorant and vicious at worst. He also illuminates the complexities of the Ulster problem, showing that it is easier to caricature the province's Protestant reactionaries than to understand them. One other praiseworthy feature of the book is its biographical capsules, which are separated from the main text and neatly summarise the lives of the leading personalities of Irish history. If you feel you have a gap in your knowledge of Ireland, you must start with this book.