The Civil Service and the Revolution in Ireland 19121938: 'shaking the Blood-Stained Hand of Mr Collins'

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This book is a history of the Irish civil service and its response to revolutionary changes in the State. It examines the response of the civil service to the threat of partition, World War, the emergence of the revolutionary forces of Dail Eireann and the IRA through to the Civil War and the Irish Free State. Questioning the orthodox interpretation of evolution rather than revolution in the administration of the State it throws new light on civil service organization in British-ruled Ireland, the process whereby Northern Ireland came into existence, the Dail Eireann administration in the War of Independence, and civil service attitudes to the new Irish Free State. Based on a wide range of new sources, the book is of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of Irish, Imperial and Commonwealth history and of post-colonial, governance and political studies as well as a reader with an interest in the role of the State in the process of decolonisation in the 20th century. -- .

Reviews

"Martin Maguire's important book is thoroughly anchored in an impressive array of original materials, and bristles with fresh argument and insight. It cogently addresses and challenges the full range of our existing knowledge about the Dublin Castle administration, the reforms of 1920, and the early development of the Free State civil service. The work thereby significantly advances the historiography on early 20th century Ireland."--Alvin Jackson, Sir Richard Lodge Professor of History, University of Edinburgh

Author Bio

Martin Maguire is Lecturer in History at the Department of Humanities, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland