The Politics of Illusion: A Political History of the IRA
Since World War I, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its political wing, Sinn Fein ("Ourselves Alone"), has been a significant if at times barbarous voice in the contentious Anglo-Irish relationship. At a time of great optimism on both sides of the Irish border, Patterson (Univ. of Ulster) reconsiders the IRA in this of his highly praised work. The result is a history of neither the Troubles nor the IRA, which are amply covered elsewhere in such works as Paul Arthur's Northern Ireland Since 1968 (Blackwell, 1996. 2d ed.) and Tim Coogan's The IRA: A History (Rinehart, 1993). Instead, Patterson deliberately seeks here the objectivity usually so lacking in similar works. He views IRA/ Sinn Fein as a social phenomenon, an evolving "social republicanism," and considers its role in crucial periods of postpartition Irish history. What emerges is a picture of a movement divided between the impulses of violence and terrorism and the attractions of peace and political responsibility. As such, it is an extremely timely book that will be an eye-opener for those who believe they understand Ireland and its problems.?John J. Doherty, Montana State Univ., BozemanCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.