Learning Democracy: Political Opposition in the Irish Free State

FAIN: FT-264461-19

Jason Knirck
Central Washington University (Ellensburg, WA 98926-7599)

Research and writing leading to publication of a book on the history of parliamentary opposition in the Irish Free State (1922-1937).

This project studies the development of parliamentary opposition in the Irish Free State. The normalizing of such opposition is a crucial aspect of the success of any democracy and Ireland had no traditions or notions of a loyal parliamentary opposition when the Free State was created. The major Irish pre-revolutionary party sought to leave the Westminster parliament via Home Rule and often used obstructionist tactics to achieve that end. The revolution had placed a premium on unity and the post-revolutionary division of Irish politics into parties was often depicted as a deplorable fall—motivated by base desires such as greed or ambition—from the previous state of revolutionary unity. In addition, those hostile to the revolutionary settlement took up arms against the new Irish parliament and initially abstained from it. The development of notions of opposition in the face of these many obstacles proved a key factor in explaining the ultimate perseverance of democracy in Ireland.

Associated Products

Democracy and Dissent in the Irish Free State: Opposition, Decolonization, and Majority Rights (Book)
Title: Democracy and Dissent in the Irish Free State: Opposition, Decolonization, and Majority Rights
Author: Jason Knirck
Abstract: A new analysis of the difficulties in normalising opposition in the Irish Free State, this book analyses the collision between nineteenth-century monolithic nationalist movements with the norms and expectations of multiparty parliamentary democracy. The Irish revolutionaries’ attempts to create a Gaelic, postcolonial state involved resolving tension between these two ideas. Smaller economically-driven parties such as the Labour and Farmers’ parties attempted to move on from the revolution’s unnatural focus on nationalist political issues while the larger revolutionary parties descended from Sinn Féin attempt to recreate or restore notions of revolutionary unity. This conflict made democracy and opposition hard to establish in the Irish Free State.
Year: 2022
Access Model: Harcdover (forthcoming Dec 2022)
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Type: Single author monograph
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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