DCU’s Dr Donnacha Ó Beacháin has received an award for his book, From Partition to Brexit: The Irish Government and Northern Ireland (Manchester University Press, 2018). The Brian Farrell book prize is awarded each year by the Political Studies Association of Ireland (PSAI), in honour of Prof. Farrell’s distinguished contribution to the study of politics in Ireland, both as an academic and broadcaster.
The award was presented at the PSAI’s annual conference in Maynooth University on October 19th. The book assesses the Irish government’s policy towards Northern Ireland, from partition in 1921 to the present day. Based on extensive original research, it challenges the idea that there has been a consistent set of policies, and reveals a dynamic story of changing priorities.
Reviews
‘Enthralling, insightful and meticulously researched. Anyone who wants to understand how successive Irish Governments have engaged with Northern Ireland should read it.’
– Bertie Ahern, Taoiseach, 1997-2008, key negotiator of the Good Friday and St Andrews Agreements
‘Brilliant, lucid and thought-provoking – required reading for anyone who wants to understand relations between these islands and the importance of the Border.’
– David McCullagh. Presenter of the current affairs RTE television programme Prime Time
‘Successfully expose[s] the true extent of the [Irish Government’s] ambivalences and inconsistencies, using an impressive wealth of archival material in both Britain and Ireland unavailable to an earlier generation of researchers.’
– Diarmaid Ferriter, Professor of Modern Irish History at UCD (writing in The Irish Times, 5 January 2019)
‘The book is superb for anyone who wants to know why Ireland is where it is now and how the two parts of Ireland have treated each other for nigh on to a century.’
– Frank MacGabhann, Irish Examiner, 23 February 2019
‘Ó Beacháin has broken new ground and provided a useful map for a generation of political scientists and historians.’
– Seán Donlon, former Secretary-General of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (writing in History Ireland, March-April 2019)