Ireland: A Social and Cultural History 1922-1985 - Softcover

Terence Brown

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006860826 ISBN 13: 9780006860822

Publisher: Fontana Press, 1985

Synopsis

The seminal history of Ireland's most unusual century, thoroughly updated for the new millennium. With its starting point the bloody creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, Ireland: A Social and Cultural History explores how Irish identity has shifted across eighty years of unprecedented change and violence. What was the legacy of De Valera and Sinn Fein - or of remaining neutral during the Second World War? What were the effects of the establishment of a formally recognised Republic of Ireland in 1949 and thus the continued status of Northern Ireland as part of Great Britain? How has the state of virtual civil war that has existed between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland ever since altered the course of Irish history? Terence Brown evokes all the turbulent (and often confusing) events of the last century and makes sense of them, showing with skill and wit just how Irish culture escaped from W B Yeats' backward-looking Celtic Twilight towards modernity. Ireland: A Social and Cultural History is a fascinating work of synthesis - and an unforgettable book.

About this title

About the Author

Terence Brown is Associate Professor of English and a Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. He is the author of ‘Louis MacNiece: Sceptical Vision’, ‘Northern Voices: Poets from Ulster’ and ‘The Whole Protestant Community: The Making of a Historical Myth’, and the co-editor of ‘The Irish Short Story’.

From the Back Cover

The post-Treaty period in Ireland has been an era of intense debate about the nature and future of Irish society and culture. A state born in violence and divided by bitter quarrels saw its salvation in the imposition of a remarkable degree of conformism and hyper-nationalism on the social, cultural and educational institutions it introduced. Those who refused to be ruled by the accepted orthodoxies, usually artists and authors, adopted the stance of social critics and were viewed with suspicion and distaste by their compatriots at the same time as their work won international acclaim.

Terence Brown traces the development of modern Ireland through a juxtaposition of key topics such as nationalism, industrialisation, religion, language revival and censorship with an assessment of the major literary and artistic advances achieved in this climate. This is an innovative and illuminating study of an emergent nation.

"A magnificent reference book as well as being a fine piece of history".
DUBLIN EVENING HERALD

"A valuable examination of the ways in which the citizens of the Republic have seen themselves since the Treaty of 1921".
DAILY TELEGRAPH

"A splendidly documented book"
IRISH PRESS

Edition details

• Publisher: Fontana Press
• Publication date: 1985
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0006860826
• ISBN 13: 9780006860822
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400