The Republic

Is Ireland a republic? At its core the word 'republic' signifies the 'representation of democracy'. There are several interpretations which seem contradictory but all claim the status of 'republic' - there have been Catholic, Protestant, radical and conservative, small city-state and territorial republics.We might expect that an ideology that includes Machiavelli, Oliver Cromwell and Gerry Adams has to be pretty diverse - and it is. Similarly, what it means to be a republican is a contested...