Ancestral Voices in Irish Politics

The story of Charles Stewart Parnell, one of the greatest Irish leaders of the nineteenth century and also one of the most renowned figures of the 1880s on the international stage, and John Dillon, the most celebrated of Parnell’s lieutenants. As Paul Bew shows, the differences between the two men reflect both Ireland’s past and its future.

The story of Charles Stewart Parnell, one of the greatest Irish leaders of the nineteenth century and also one of the most renowned figures of the 1880s on the international stage, and John Dillon, the most celebrated, but also the most neglected, of Parnell’s lieutenants. As Paul Bew shows, the differences between the two men reflect both Ireland’s past and its future. Every time the principle of consent for a united Ireland is discussed today, we can perceive the legacy of both men. Even more profoundly, that legacy can be seen when Irish nationalism tries to transcend a tribalist outlook based on the historic Catholic nation, even when the country is no longer so very Catholic.

Paul Bew

Paul Bew is Emeritus Professor of Irish Politics, Queens University Belfast, and a crossbench peer in the House of Lords. He is co-chair of the Speaker’s Advisory Committee for Parliament’s commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of Churchill’s death. He is also the author of numerous books and articles on Irish political history, including Ireland: The Politics of Enmity, 1789-2006 (2007), also published by Oxford University Press.