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This major new account of the politics of modern Ireland offers a rigorous analysis of the forces which shaped both how the Irish state governed itself from the period since 1987 and how it lost its economic sovereignty in 2010.
This study comprehensively assess the last quarter century in Irish electoral politics from the time of the end of a deep recession in 1987 to the general election of 2011 where Ireland was ruled by the Troika and austerity was a by-word for both policy-making and how many Irish people lived their lives. It analyses why the political system in Ireland was unable to stop the country losing its economic sovereignty and why the Irish electorate kept returning to political alternatives which they had rejected in the past.
Written in a lively and engaging style it offers rich insights into the politics of modern Ireland and how Irish citizens have lived through a period combining triumphant euphoria and deep despair.
'...the best and most complete political synthesis of the era.'
Gerard Howlin, The Sunday Times Ireland, May 2016
'What he successfully does is tie together the political events and personalities behind events in a 25-year period. The result leaves the reader with a genuinely good knowledge of what happened in politics and is certainly an encouragement to delve further into more detailed accounts.'
Brian Hayes, Irish Times, June 2016
Introduction: The conservative revolutionaries
I. Of constitutional and economic crusades: Ireland in the 1980s
2. Charles J. Haughey and the politics of coalition
3. The politics of changing coalitions
4. Tribunals of inquiry and the politics of corrupt influence
5. Fianna Fáil and the politics of hubris
6. Fianna Fáil and the politics of nemesis
Conclusion: The Politics of Troika Ireland
Index