The Irish constitutional tradition

A comprehensive analysis of Irish constitutions and constitutional proposals is presented in this single volume, which spans 1782 to the present day and treats the constitutional history of Ireland, north and south, as an integrated whole.

Combining constitutional theory, political history, and political science, Alan J. Ward's study provides an interpretation of the many attempts to solve Ireland's political problems by constitutional means. The broad time frame enables the author to examine Irish constitutionalism as a tradition and place it in the context of the political history of the British commonwealth, from which it derives.

The author employs a theoretical model of parliamentary government, or "responsible government," to analyze the sources, continuities, strengths, and weaknesses of Irish constitutionalism. Against the background of the model, the author examines the failure of the Irish Parliament of 1782-1800, Britain's misgovernment of Ireland from 1801 to 1922, the constitutional implications of Daniel O'Connell's "repeal" agitation in the 1830s and 1840s, and flaws in Irish home rule proposals from 1886 to 1914.

The model also forms the basis of the author's discussion of the Irish Free State Constitution of 1922, the Irish constitution of 1937, the political system of Northern Ireland from 1921 to 1972, and attempts to devise a new constitution for Northern Ireland since 1972. The result is a thorough grounding in the constitutional relationships between Ireland and Britain and the constitutional development of both parts of Ireland since partition.