Ideology and the Irish Question

Going right to the heart of the Irish Question, Paul Bew offers a reinterpretation of Irish politics in the critical 1912-16 period. He looks again at the issues at stake in the home rule crisis of 1912-14, arguing that John Redmond, the leader of constitutional nationalism in the period, possessed a plausible political strategy. Redmond's reputation has suffered from the critiques of those who argue either that he failed to conciliate Unionists, or that he lacked the requisite fighting spirit of militant nationalism. This book contains much that is a sympathetic reconstruction of Redmond's vision but it also acknowledges the seriousness of the Ulster Unionist case. . Bew offers a full treatment of the debate concerning land, economy, religion, language, and national identity in the period, and ends with a discussion of the Easter Rising of 1916 which destroyed Redmond's party. The political, cultural, and economic implications of this development are drawn out, and Bew examines their continuing effect on Irish history.