Fatal influence : the impact of Ireland on British politics, 1920-1925 / Kevin Matthews.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Matthews, Kevin.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Irish question.

Great Britain--Politics and government--1910-1936.

Great Britain.

Politics and government.

Ireland--Politics and government--1922-.

Ireland.

Physical Description:

xvi, 317 pages 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Dublin : University College Dublin Press, 2004.

Summary:

"Fatal Influence challenges and revises many widely held assumptions about a pivotal moment in both British and Irish history and persuasively demonstrates that Ireland's impact on British politics lasted far longer and was far greater than has been realized. It explores the Irish partition and the often conflicting motives that led to this momentous decision; dividing the country into two parts, which merely created what one politician at the time called its "elements of dynamite." These elements were thrown into an already unstable political situation in Britain, with three political parties--Liberals, Conservatives, and Labour--all vying for a place in that nation's traditional two-party system. The book brings together some of the most colorful characters of 20th-century British and Irish history, from Winston Churchill and Michael Collins to David Lloyd George and Eamon de Valera.

Contents:

Prologue: A Damnable Legacy 1

1 Prime Minister for Life 10

2 A Treaty for Ireland 39

3 The Churchill Dispensation 65

4 The Legacy of Bonar Law 91

5 Mr Baldwin Takes Charge 111

6 Labour's 'Troublesome Subject' 135

7 Heading for Irish Rocks 157

8 The Boundary Bill and Its Aftermath 181

9 'Not An Inch!' 200

Epilogue: 'The Harvest Gathered in' 241

Appendix II Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland 280

Appendix III Birkenhead's letter to Balfour, 3 March 1922 288.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-307) and index.

ISBN:

1904558062

OCLC:

54505351