This book is the first ever collection of scholarly essays on the history of the Irish working class. It provides a comprehensive introduction to the involvement of Irish workers in political life and movements between 1830 and 1945. Fourteen leading Irish and international historians and political scientists trace the politicization of Irish workers during a period of considerable social and political turmoil. The contributions include both surveys covering the entire period and case studies that provide new perspectives on crucial historical movements and moments. This volume is a milestone in Irish labour and political historiography and an important contribution to the international literature on politics and the working class.
'...this edited volume is a welcome addition to Irish working-class historiography. It goes some way to tighten the accepted reasons for the lack of left-right politics in Ireland, north and south, while offering glimpses of when this development may have broken through the barriers of religion, nationalism and ownership of the land...The reading of Politics and the Irish Working Class, 1830-1945 prompts the reader to delve further, and the range and wealth of sources contained within illustrate plenty of scope for further research.' - Kieran McGovern, Reviews in History
'A welcome and important contribution to Irish working class history. It has taken far too long for a volume such as this to appear and the editors, contributors and publishers are to be congratulated on the publication of such an interesting and scholarly collection. It is a collection that will prove useful to experienced scholars and students alike and many of the chapters provide a large amount of useful references. ' - Irish Economic and Social History
'A welcome and important contribution to Irish working class history. It has taken far too long for a volume such as this to appear and the editors, contributors and publishers are to be congratulated on the publication of such an interesting and scholarly collection. It is a collection that will prove useful to experienced scholars and students alike and many of the chapters provide a large amount of useful references. ' - Irish Economic and Social History