UCD School of Politics & International Relations

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Alison Coyne is a UCD Law with Politics student. The best book reviews written as part of the course requirements for POL30080 Irish Politics and Policy are posted here to let UCD students contribute to critical reflection on key issues in Irish political and social life.

Susan McKay, Sophia’s Story (2004). Dublin: Gill and Macmillan

Sophia’s Story is the autobiography of Sophia McColgan, a woman with a harrowing story of her childhood in a household full of abuse and horror. Sophia bravely tells the story of life as the daughter of Joseph McColgan, a brutal man who raped and abused his family. A book full of torment, tears, terror and turmoil, Sophia’s Story is a must-read; it will leave you questioning the Irish system for child abuse, and perplexed as to how such unspeakable events could occur in modern society. Continue reading →

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Jack Power is a UCD History Joint Major student. The best book reviews written as part of the course requirements for POL30080 Irish Politics and Policy are posted here to let UCD students contribute to critical reflection on key issues in Irish political and social life.

Gilmore, Éamon (2015) Inside the Room: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Crisis Government, Dublin, Merrion Press.

Eamon Gilmore’s memoir Inside the Room, despite its several shortcomings, provides an interesting read for any politico. The book was penned by Gilmore presumably in an attempt to justify the Labour Party’s efforts in government with the public. It offers a look behind both the doors of the coalition government and into the Labour Party backroom, and if one can cut through the haze of Gilmore’s own political spin, the book can go a long way to explaining the Labour Party’s fall from grace. Continue reading →

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Katie Rabasca is a Study Abroad Engineering student at UCD. The best book reviews written as part of the course requirements for POL30080 Irish Politics and Policy are posted here to let UCD students contribute to critical reflection on key issues in Irish political and social life.

Healy, Gráinne, Sheehan, Brian & Whelan, Noel (2015) Ireland Says Yes: The Inside Story of How the Vote for Marriage Equality Was Won, Dublin, Irish Academic Press/ Merrion Press.

On May 23, 2015, twenty-two years after homosexuality was decriminalized, Irish citizens voted to amend their constitution so that same-sex marriage would be recognized. In Ireland Says Yes, Gráinne Healy, Brian Sheehan, and Noel Whelan, insiders and activists, record the journey of the Yes Equality campaign towards the Marriage Equality Referendum in 2015. They take us through the campaign from the Constitutional Convention in April 2013, where advocates for marriage equality convinced the delegates to request a constitutional amendment from the government to include same sex marriage, through to the dramatic outcome of the count on May 23, 2015. The narrative is based on a series of personal anecdotes from campaign workers and volunteers, as well as their reactions to major events. The book had an incredibly fast turnaround: it was published on November 30 2015, only five months after the referendum was passed. It has some signs of having been written very quickly, but despite this Ireland says Yes is an insightful and personal look at the Yes side of the campaign. Continue reading →

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Oliver Clarke is a UCD Politics and History Joint Major. The best book reviews written as part of the course requirements for POL30080 Irish Politics and Policy are posted here to let UCD students contribute to critical reflection on key issues in Irish political and social life.

Healy, Gráinne, Sheehan, Brian & Whelan, Noel (2015) Ireland Says Yes: The Inside Story of How the Vote for Marriage Equality Was Won, Dublin, Irish Academic Press/ Merrion Press.

The Marriage Equality Referendum which took place on 22^nd May 2015 was a seminal moment in Irish politics. The referendum on whether to allow two people regardless of their sex to be married was passed by a convincing margin of 62 per cent to 38 per cent. This was a victory for all gay people in the country and in turn inspired many other Western countries to seek marriage equality in their nations. Ireland was the first country in the world to pass marriage equality legislation by popular vote, which made international headlines. Many people worked hard to lobby and seek change in homosexual couples’ marital status over the decades, from politicians to awareness groups, and this victory was their reward. Indeed, the scenes at Dublin Castle post-referendum illustrate the joy, relief, and sheer euphoria experienced by all those who sought marriage equality. The outcome also signified something wider for many people, which is that homosexuals need no longer feel they had to suppress who they really were; many of those who had been afraid of coming out as gay to family and friends experienced a newfound confidence. Ireland Says Yes: The Inside Story of How the Vote for Marriage Equality Was Won is written by the three leaders of the Yes Equality campaign, Gráinne Healy, Brian Sheehan, and Noel Whelan, and it chronicles the inside story of the referendum campaign. This book is an excellent account of the work that went into running the Yes Equality campaign, from the leadership of the campaign right down to the local canvassers. Continue reading →

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Triona Macken is a UCD Politics Joint Major. The best book reviews written as part of the course requirements for POL30080 Irish Politics and Policy are posted here to let UCD students contribute to critical reflection on key issues in Irish political and social life.

Burke, Sara (2009) Irish Apartheid: Healthcare Inequality in Ireland, Dublin, New Island.

In this book Sara Burke, a journalist in health matters, provides both a lay person’s and an academic’s guide to understanding the complexities of the Irish health system. Throughout the book she is critical of how successive ministers failed to deliver a comprehensive public health service. She is particularly critical of the health strategies of governments from 2001 to 2007 which escalated inequalities. Her book, written in 2009 at the onset of the Great Recession, gives an authoritative perspective on health policies during the years of boom. This gives us a good context in which to understand what has happened since the crisis. Continue reading →