The modernisation of Irish society, 1848-1918

by Joseph Lee

Real seller with inventory on hand. Trade Paperback. Gill and Macmillan, 1973. Near Fine. A clean, unmarked book with a tight binding. Slight wear to cover. 180 pages. Analyzes Ireland's transformation from the Great Famine to Sinn Fein's 1918 electoral triumph, arguing that post-Famine emigration and tenant farmers created one of the world's most advanced political cultures through skillful use of British electoral systems and organizations like the Land League and Home Rule movement.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ireland

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

This is Joseph Lee (1942- )

Reviews

[Rob Keenan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short. Readable. Solid on the National Question.

[Agnes DiPietrantonio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jam packed with information. But filled in some blanks in my knowledge base.

[Denerick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an impressive book, small yet amazingly persuasive. It is more like a collection of critical essays on all of the major themes of Irish history in this period than any kind of narrative (Which is just as well, considering F.S.L. Lyons, R.F. Foster and Paul bew have the narrative history of Ireland in this period pretty much pinned down) I especially enjoyed his criticisms of the Conservative policy in Ireland (Killing Home Rule with kindness) Here he aptly points out that instead of wasting money in the west, investment should have been concentrated in the east so as to encourage internal migration to that potentially prosperous area rather than keeping the west of Ireland 'ticking over' and encouraging emigration to America and Britain. The results, he claims, were catastrophic, leading to stagnation in the west and only tentative growth in the east.

He acknowledges the brilliance of our transport system (The Irish railway system was one of the finest in the Empire) pointing out that we had an overdeveloped infrastructure which should have been able to accomodate more than a mere commercial agricultural economy - although he does point out the overall amazing improvement in Irish economic performance in the years following the Famine, aided by a growing middle class and more equitable rural farming class, a significant change which catered for the social explosion which culminated in Easter 1916.

Lastly the role of the Church is both rehabilated and criticised, both in education and 'moral values'. Cardinal Cullen was a strange man who did more than any other to improve the education of the Irish poor, but to him we also must remember a growing Romanism within the church, and the ever increasing divergence between the aloof Catholic hierarchy and the laity, who were almost driven to insanity by the extreme expectations of their leaders.

Overall, this is both an influential and thought provoking book, which looks at Irish history from various new angles (It was written in the 70s after all) It's short (Barely over 100 pages)

[Dan Sexton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to rush through this book for my thesis. In the end, it was not the best available work on my topic of long-run economic development following the Irish Famine, but it was an interesting read nonetheless. It gives a concise overview of the most important societal developments following the Famine, although, as I always love to point out, it was sometimes short on quantitative backing to its qualitative claims. I struggled with some of Lee's adherence to the "great man" theory of history. Belfast did not develop shipyards because of a few great entrepreneurs, and Ireland did not become independent because of Parnell or Pearse. Lee's discussion of the development of the Land League, on the other hand, was very useful.

[Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peor redacción que el anterior, mas rebuscada, frases con sucesiones raras y muchos mas vocabulario raro y específico. Creo también que pudo haber hablado mas del levatnamiento de pascua y de la elección de 1918, no obstante buen libro que sigue con el nivel de buenos análisis, indispensable para adentrarse en el contexto y la historia de Irlanda.