Freedom to Achieve Freedom: The Irish Free State 1922-1932

by Donal P. Corcoran

Overview

There is a huge library of books on the Irish revolutionary period but a dearth of material on the first ten years of independent Ireland. This book fills that gap in the literature. Freedom to Achieve Freedom reviews the processes of state-building and the policies adopted in all the major areas of government, paying particular attention to law and order, the creation of the Irish public service, land, health, education and the Irish language, as well as other areas of public policy. It is easy to forget that the establishment of a stable, democratic state in the circumstances in which Ireland found itself in 1922 was an achievement unique in Europe: all the other independent states that emerged from the rubble of World War I soon yielded to some form of authoritarian or fascist government. Considered in that light, the achievement of the founding fathers of the Irish state, so ably chronicled in this book, remains remarkable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780717157730
Publisher:	Gill Books
Publication date:	09/13/2013
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	781 KB

About the Author

Donal P. Corcoran is a retired accountant who did a PhD in the history department in UCC as a retirement project. This book is the product of his doctorate.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Ireland before independence 7

3 The 1922 constitution 26

4 Politics and the political parties 39

5 Securing control over the state 47

6 Ireland and the world 65

7 Civil war and the army 86

8 Restoring law and order 106

9 Creating an Irish public service 127

10 Extreme shortage of money 133

11 Agriculture and land 153

12 Fisheries and the Gaeltacht 170

13 Trade, industry and infrastructure 178

14 Health and social welfare 200

15 Education and the Irish language 210

16 Posts, telecommunications and radio 229

17 Conclusion 249

References 258

Select Bibliography 280

Index 288