The British Monarchy and Ireland: 1800 to the Present

Description

A broad-ranging political and social history of the relationship of the British monarchy with Ireland from 1800 to the present. James Loughlin demonstrates how this relationship was shaped by the personalities of individual monarchs and by government policies in Ireland, especially during the nineteenth century when the state sought to quell Irish demands for independence. The study takes account not only of nationalist Ireland, but also of Ulster loyalism; the function of royal ritual and spectacle in engaging Irish popular opinion; and assesses royal allegiance within both the context of Government policies in Ireland and the Irish Viceroyalty, the British monarchy's surrogate presence. The analysis moves through to the present day, examining the monarchy's role in facilitating Anglo-Irish conciliation following the end of violent conflict in Northern Ireland. This comprehensive account makes a significant contribution to the history of Anglo-Irish relations, the monarchy, nationalism, unionism and the politics of identity.

James Loughlin is Reader in History at the School of History and International Affairs, University of Ulster. His previous publications include Ulster Unionism and British National Identity since 1885 (1995) and The Ulster Question since 1945 (1998).

Review of the hardback: 'It is a great read, based on meticulous scholarship. Every ingredient of a mesmerising soap is present - a rackety court, demonstrations and counter demonstrations, symbolic gestures, missed opportunities, the raising and lowering of statues, security scares, intrigues but the bucketful and a wonderful cast. The story travels from farce to tragedy via bathos at a rapid rate.' Books Ireland Review of the hardback: 'This ground-breaking book ... give[s] us a masterful account of an important aspect of recent history.' Contemporary Review Review of the hardback: '... [the book] becomes a meticulous and fascinating study of the formulation and reformulation of British policy as it related to the possible role of the monarchy in an overall solution to the Irish question ... What it does do superbly well ... is to give an account of the formulation of British policy towards Ireland, and of the fate of attempts to implement that policy, as it related to the role of the monarchy in any settlement of the 'Irish question.'' H-Albion