Paul Bew

Paul Bew's book covers a broad sweep of two centuries of Irish history, from the loss of autonomy under the Act of Union and the subsequent campaign to achieve the unfulfilled promise of Catholic Emancipation, through the growth of nationalism and the partition into the Ireland of today. While his focus is on the perspectives underpinning the conflict between the Protestant British and Irish Catholics, what stands out in his narrative is the prevalence of missed opportunities, moments when the political actors could have made different choices that might have tempered enmity and led to a more positive outcome for the Irish people.

Though thoughtfully argued and backed by an impressive command of the literature, the book suffers from two flaws. The first is the poor editing, which is rather surprising considering that the book comes from an publisher of Oxford's distinction. This is more than just a matter of a few typos, as the inaccuracies can distort the import of some of the events Bew describes. The other problem is its narrow focus; whereas most volumes in the Oxford History of Modern Europe series provide a broad coverage of the history of their subjects, Bew's focus is mainly on high politics, with the economic, social, and -- most glaringly, given its political importance -- cultural history of Ireland during this period addressed only in passing or not at all. These limitations diminish the overall value of the book, which in the end is best read as a specialized survey of Irish politics rather than an overall history of Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.… (meer)

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3233852.html

I've known Paul Bew since I was 13; he was a colleague of my father's at the Queen's University of Belfast and succeeded him as Professor of Irish Politics. This is a collection of his newspaper and magazine articles (as opposed to academic publications) from 1994 to 2007, the year in which he became a member of the House of Lords. (He is now the Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, having previously chaired the Committee on Standards in Public Life.)

These pieces very much reflect the times in which they were written, and also noticeably shift to reflect the perspective of Ulster Unionist leader and First Minister David Trimble at the point where the author was closest to him in the early 2000's (and then back away again after Trimble's defeat). But what really interested me was to be reminded of how far Northern Ireland has come, an important perspective given the gloomy current situation; 25 years ago, when the first of these pieces was written, the terrorist campaigns of both sides remained in full swing, and there was no perspective of a DUP/Sinn Fein-led power-sharing government (and even though that arrangement collapsed in early 2017, both parties stipulate that they want it restored).

It's also a salutary reflection that in those days, it was the Dublin government which was still getting to grips with the reality of Northern Ireland, and Westminster which had an in-depth knowledge, as opposed to today when the British establishment has retreated to absurd superficiality and it is Dublin that is keeping its finger on the pulse. (Officials from both Northern Ireland and Scotland tell me that they are getting more and better information about Brexit from the Irish government than from London.)

All of these essays have dated, in that they were very specific descriptions of the latest political developments, written for a literate but not well-informed audience. But they are well-written and clear, and useful for anyone wanting to track how we got from the chaos of 1994 to the settlement of 2007.… (meer)