Ireland's History Overview by Collins and McCann in Irish Politics Today

Categories: Politics Today

Irish Politics Today was written by Neil Collins and Frank McCann. This book was written in 1989 so is a little out of date. This book gives a very good outline of the history of Ireland, from when Ireland got its independence to the present day government. The book was very interesting and kept you attention the whole way through. The book covered every aspect of Ireland in a very general manner. There were not very many specific names other than the Presidents and the Taoiseach.

Chapter one looks at the history of Ireland starting with its two jurisdictions Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Ireland got its independence in 1922. The book refers to the Republic of Ireland as the Republic. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. When the republic got its independence the island was divided into thirty-two counties. The Republic controlled twenty-six of those counties. France and America had a huge influence on the people of Ireland resisting the British.

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The first attempt to gain independence was in 1798. Wolfe Tone attempted to overthrow the British, but he failed both militarily and politically. The Great Famine between 1845 and 1851 killed one million people. This famine was a result of a failure in the potato crop. Around this time is when many Irish people came to America for new hope. In 1918 the parliament was formed called Dail Eireann by Sinn Fein the party that won the majority of seats in the 1918 election. The two major political parties today are Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

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The Irish constitution was formed in 1937. This was when De Valera was the leader of Fianna Fail and the Taoiseach or Prime Minister. Ireland in the World economy is in the semi-periphery or intermediate in status. Industry is locally owned and financed. Their economy in 1900 was dependent on agriculture, and is weak because of their lack of raw materials. Irelands main export was live cattle to Britain. After Ireland got its independence they began getting new exports like, butter and eggs. There was also more competition from neighboring nations, including Denmark and New Zealand. The World economic crisis of the 1920s and 30s caused Ireland to change from a free trade principle to protectionism. De Valera, who thought by protecting domestic markets from imports it would give them a better chance to get established, brought this change into affect. This regime lasted until the 1950s. In 1973 Ireland became a member of the European Community.

In Chapter two the main subject matter is Irelands political parties and elections. In the 1600s Britain used the idea of plantation to secure their rule. This consisted of replacement of the natives in economic and political power by people brought over from Britain. In 1868 Britain for the first time did not dominate the elections. The Easter rising of 1916 was the beginning of the military campaign for independence. This rising began slowly with many people being executed. The public saw these executions and joined the militants. The Easter rising was the beginning of Irish people reawakening to their nationality. During the next few years a war broke out against Britain. The Anglo-Irish treaty was signed in 1921 ending the war. This set up the Irish Free State. There was then a civil war that broke out because of the new treaty that gave Ireland their independence. In 1923 the pro-Treaty people organized themselves into a new party called Cumann na nGaedheal. In 1926 De Valera resigned from Sinn Fein and formed a new party, Fianna Fail. In the 1927 election they won forty-four seats. In 1933 the Cummann na n Gaedheal, and the National Guard joined to form the Fine Gael party. There is no church sate conflict because 90% of the population is Catholic. The Irish electoral system is done by a proportional representation by the single transferable vote in multi-member constituencies(Collins, 26). An elector listed the people he or she wants to vote for in order of preference. When a member meets a quota they are elected. The other votes are then allocated to other candidates according to preference on the ballot paper. Charles Haughey replaced Jack Lynch as party leader in 1979 and singled out the most important issue was the unification of Ireland. Fine Gael focused on the economy and won more seats than ever. Charles Haughey began to get challenged for his views. The main opposition was Desmond O Malley who formed the Progressive Democrats. One of the main differences in the Ireland political campaign is they have to compete against fellow party nominees. Elections are won or lost by relatively few voters. Politicians have to think more about them winning personally instead of their party winning. People vote for candidates they know on a formal basis, either threw friends or family.

Chapter three talks about pressure groups and elites. Power in Ireland is organized into private, public, or major pressure groups. Local family connections and local prestige are important when entering the political elite. Irish politicians share many values and interest; they all have loyalty to parliamentary democracy, nationalism, and the Catholic Church. Most major interest groups in Ireland are saw as partners with the government. There are two main interest groups that represent employees. These two groups are the Confederation of Irish Industry and the Federal Union of Employees. Ownership of land is seen as a major social, political, and cultural positive.

Chapter four is about the policy process. One of the major things that has been happening in Ireland during the past fifteen years is overseas companies coming to Ireland and setting up business. There has been more than 850 overseas companies in the past fifteen years (Collins 50). This means most of the major decisions are made from other countries. During the 1950s Ireland began to shift away from protectionism. Their new emphasize was on education and computer literacy. The major people involved in the policy process are higher level bureaucracy, economic pressure groups, major companies, and senior politicians. The government sets the amount of money to be spent in each area like defense, and health. Then people from inside these areas decide how to allocate those resources. Government departments are organized on functional lines to cover the major areas of policy. Departments are staffed by civil servants; the most senior is the secretary.

Chapter five deals with Irelands Constitution and their law. Irelands constitution is called Bunreacht na hEireann. The constitution came into operation on December 29, 1937. Ireland has had three constitutions. The first constitutions were in 1919. This was an independence movement and followed the British legal system. The second constitution was in 1927, and was called The Constitution of The Irish Free State. This set up a bicameral legislation consisting of a lower house (Dail) and an upper house (Seanad). The third constitution in 1937 set up the twenty-six counties under the Republic of Ireland Act. This constitution got reduced links with Britain and removed the Oath to the King. Now Ireland has total control over foreign and domestic affairs. There are four main points that the Bunreacht na hEireann has, the head of the State is elected, sovereignty lay with the people, and parliament has two houses, a separate and independent judiciary system. The head of the state is not the President but is the Taoiseach or Deputy Prime Minister). The presidents role is to guard the people and the constitution. The President can only be re-elected once. The Seanad has sixty members. The Taoiseach nominates eleven members and the other 49 are elected. The graduates of the University of Dublin and the National University of Ireland elect three senators each. The other forty-three are elected from five panels of candidates with people that have knowledge and service in the following areas: Culture and Education; Agriculture, Labour; Industry and commerce; Public Administration. Their power is to revise and clarify Bills. The Dail has anywhere between 128 and a 66 members.

The country is divided into forty-one constituencies. Members can stay in the Dail for up to five years. Their power is in checking, redrafting, and amending legislation. From 1941 to 1972 Bunreacht na hEireann has remained unchanged. From 1981 to 1983 the Eighth Amendment was one of the most talked about issues was the debate over protecting the life of the unborn. Northern Ireland during the 1960s was a great time of unrest. The Bunreacht na hEireann sees the whole island of Ireland as being the National Territory but also the jurisdiction is limited to the twentysix counties of the Country. The Bunreacht na hEireann also recognizes the position of the Catholic church as the faith of the population. For this reason the constitution doesnt appeal to the unionist or Protestants. There were many changes during the 1960s. These changes began with the replacement of De Valera by Sean Lemass. He argued that the constitution needed to be revised. In January 1988 the Progressive Democrats came up with a blueprint for an entirely new constitution.

Chapter six discusses local government. Local government is less powerful and provides fewer services than in most other European Countries. Local government in Ireland is based on nineteenth-century British legislation. There are five major urban authorities called county boroughs, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway. The rest of the Country is divided into twenty-seven county council areas. Each local authority has two elements, the elected members (councilors), and a manager. County boroughs have between fifteen and fifty-two members. Local government elections are held infrequently. The population of the Republic of Ireland on April 5, 1981 was 3.4 million; nearly half were under the age of twenty-five years old.

Chapter seven deals with the Problems and unification of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland came into being in 1920 under the Government of Ireland Act. This Act created two Irish states, Northern Ireland and the southern Ireland. When the Southern part gained independence in 1922, the North stayed in its union with Britain. The Unionist Party held power from 1922 until 1972. Since 1968 the increase in violence has claimed over 2,700 lives. Since 1932 Britain has had a direct rule over Northern Ireland under a cabinet minister, called the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland the Catholic religion forms 38% of the population. Northern Ireland has the worst housing conditions in the United Kingdom. They are economic dependent on external funding and ideas. Northern Ireland also has a high unemployment rate. There are six Northern Ireland government departments. These departments co-ordinate the activities of sub-regional and local bodies.

This book was very interesting and easy to read. The only thing confusing was some of the words like Fianna Fail, Fine Gail, and the Seanad. In the beginning of the book I wasnt sure who was the leader of which political party, but after further reading I understood and it all made sense to me. At the very end of the book there is a part called key facts that tells you who won all of the elections and who held the important positions in the Ireland government.

Updated: May 03, 2023
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Ireland's History Overview by Collins and McCann in Irish Politics Today. (2022, Feb 26). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-outline-of-irelands-history-writen-by-neil-collins-and-frank-mccann-in-irish-politics-today-essay

Ireland's History Overview by Collins and McCann in Irish Politics Today essay
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