Civilising Rural Ireland

Reviews / Votes

'A compelling history of the co-operative movement. ... Civilizing Rural Ireland can be seen as complicating the perception that post-Famine Ireland gave rise to the ascent of "economic man", with no strange gods before him, in the countryside. ... A much needed social and economic contribution to the decade of centenaries ... Doyle's book can also be seen as laying to rest one of the cultural myths that sanctioned the conservative turn in rural policy, the idyll of Romantic Ireland.'
Dublin Review of Books

'Civilising Rural Ireland challenges Irish historiography by asserting that modernization efforts in Ireland did not begin in the mid-20th century but rather emerged much earlier due to the actions of the cooperative movement ... Doyle focuses on the "radical economic blueprint" fostered by various cooperatives in Ireland to convincingly confirm his thesis. ... He does an admirable job of highlighting the actions taken by key figures.'
CHOICE

'A welcome intervention into the history of the Irish revival, a work that aptly demonstrates how social and economic anxieties were at the heart of early twentieth-century Irish nationalist political discourse.'
H-Net Review

'Civilising Rural Ireland challenges Irish historiography by asserting that modernization efforts in Ireland did not begin in the mid-20th century but rather emerged much earlier due to the actions of the cooperative movement, which was spearheaded by the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society beginning in 1894. Doyle (Univ. of Manchester, UK) focuses on the "radical economic blueprint" fostered by various cooperatives in Ireland, especially creameries, to convincingly confirm his thesis. The cooperative movement served as a catalyst for rural unification, economic independence, and cultural expression on the part of Ireland's agricultural workers, as Ireland navigated the tumultuous transition from colony to republic. When difficulties emerged-particularly the outbreak of the First World War, the subsequent formation of the Irish Free State, and the Irish War of Independence-the cooperative movement persisted but was not always successful. Doyle does an admirable job of highlighting the actions taken by key figures of the cooperative movement in Ireland, particularly Oliver Plunkett, George Russell (known by the pen name AE), Robert Anderson, and Father T. A. Finlay. The book includes relevant primary and secondary sources in chapter-by-chapter endnotes and useful images and tables.'
Choice Connect -- .