Galway Advertiser 1984/1984_05_03/GA_03051984_E1_002.pdf 

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Nollaig O GaJ/tra S a o i r e na C a s c a ag c u r as duinn agus gan leath a r ndothain a m a againn le gach l e a b h a r fluntach a thagann inar dtreo a chioradh. M a i t e a r duinn, m a r sin, m a l u a i t e a r d h a s h a o t h a r a r leith m a r s h o l a t h a r n a seachtaine
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Sights And Sounds At High St. Festival

Dr. Tom Garvin who lectures in Politics in U.C.D. is, as c a n be gleaned by a wider public f r o m his f a r too infrequent contributions to R T E , one o f the m o r e realistic yet s o p h i s t i c a t e d political p u n t e r s o f the Irish a c a d e m i c community. His great strength is his overall grasp of complex situations which nevertheless allow for important regional variations and other important factors which are rather unique to Irish political evolution by West European standards. He also has a deep and honest respect for Irish history that is all too frequently neglected in the study of Irish problems and situations even by Irish academics. These were the great strengths of his The Evolution of Irish Nationalist Politics which appeared just two years ago and which is now re-issued in paperback. The work was a basic one, and a welcome addition to the growing volume of good books that have been coming from Irish academics about the home-grown situation. The book appears to have been a run-away success with an even wider reading public and it is reasonable to assume that this is one of the reasons why it is now re-issued in paperback. It is probably safe to assume that this fairly expensive soft-covered edition may also be aimed at the third level textbook market, where it is only in very recent years that we have had any real growth in the number of texts on law, politics, economics, etc., that concentrate on the Irish state and Irish institutions. T h e operation of an independent Irish state and in particular the operation of the affairs of that state as a clearly defined entity, within E E C , has in one sense, pushed some members of the Irish academic community to concentrate more and more on the specific Irish context. This is a welcome development, for after all, if Irish academic minds cannot give priority to the study of Irish problems, then nobody else will.

consider an evolution that took place not only under the shadow of a British Parliamentary tradition (which the work .does in large measure) but also against the reality that, because of our history, it was an occupation of the minority of people within the island for a very long time indeed. That central fact, and the contrast with Britain, effectively only began to crack up after the reforms of 1884, and even then anything approaching the concept of universal sufferage which we know today did not apply until 1918. And we all know what happened in the General Election of that year. It also explains why party politics and physical force have been so intermixed as different arms of the same process for so many crucial periods of our history. Dr. Garvin does, o f course, discuss this factor, but, unfortunately, seems to concentrate on evolution of matters south of the border after 1918, as if Irish Nationalist Politics faded from the scene in the North. The reality as we have seen again recently, is that they did not, and that not only have they gone their own particular way within the politically difficult confines of Northern Ireland, but have had a continuing spill-over affect on the politics of the South as well. T o limit the consideration of any Irish evolution after 1918-'22 to the fortunes of the Southern state only is to seriously limit the overall fortunes of the nation in a way that is seriously inadequate. In considering the scope of what one might expect from the title, it is, of course, possible to argue that Unionist politics is not Irish Nationalist politics and many Unionists themselves would argue that they do not even understand "Irish" politics.

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Cois Fharraige Aris

Nationalist Politics
D r . G a r v i n is, t h e r e f o r e , perfectly entitled t o c o n c e n t r a t e on the a r e a s set out in this work a n d which a r e fairly obvious f r o m the title. Y e t this c o n c e n t r a t i o n on t h e evolution o f one ( a d m i t t e d l y main s t r e a m ) t r a d i t i o n in Irish politics is a t o n c e a s t r e n g t h and a weakness. The historical evolution from the 18th century onwards is good, even excellent, particularly where insights into the complexities of the second half of the difficult 19th century is concerned, and Dr. Garvin is to be congratulated for his careful consideration of the contextual issues throughout. Y e t any concentration on "Nationalist politics" has, of necessity, to

Ni fhagann sin a r ndoigh nach saothar an-fhiuntach a t a againn a n s c o d'einne a r m h a i t h leo l e a r g a s t h i s c e a n a c h a fhail a r s t a i r agus a r cluneal n a polaitiochta a t a b c o i n a r m e a s e i gconai. T a leisce airithe orm an dara leabhar ata i gceist anseo a lua, go hairithe o tharla baint a bheith agam leis an eagarthoireacht a bhain lena fhoilsiu, den chead uair, deich mbliana o shin. Ach o tharla Cois Fharraige Le Mo Linnse a bheith as d o le fada, agus eagran nua culphaipeir de a bheith curtha ar fail anois ag Clodhanna Teo. ni miste an meid sin a chur in iul, b'fheidir. Sean O Conghaile, taca dills leis an Oireachtas a bhi ina Uachtaran ar an bhFeile an chead uair a thainig se chun na Gaeltachta, a scriobh na cuntais shuimiula seo ar shaol Chois Fharraige sa chead seo. Bhain se duaiseanna Oireachtais le go leor acu, agus is tabhachtach an cuntas iad ar stair shoisialta na Gaeltachta seo ata buailte ar chathair na Gaillimhe, agus bco i gconai ainneoin gach uile short. Se bua mor an tsaothair, dar liom, na gur mhair an t-udar i gCois Fharraige le linn an ama go leir, agus go bhfaca se an saol ag athru. Failutear roimh an athfhoilsiu.

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