Book review : From partition to Brexit : The Irish government and Northern Ireland

Abstract

As Donnacha Ó Beacháin states in the preface to his new book, this is the first study to offer a comprehensive treatment of Irish government policy towards Northern Ireland. Despite the vast literature devoted to Northern Ireland and the conflict therein, Dublin’s policy towards its neighbour has previously been covered in a piecemeal fashion, with books on particular aspects, such as the northern policies of Fianna Fáil. Another factor common to earlier studies is that they have tended either to conclude or to begin in 1969 – the year that witnessed the outbreak of Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’.