Celtic Revival?

The Rise, Fall, and Renewal of Global Ireland

By (author) Sean Kay

Hardback - £48.00

Publication date:

19 May 2011

Length of book:

264 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442211094

Celtic Revival? explores what happens when a society loses its wealth, its faith in government, and its trust in its Church. The glorious rise of the Celtic Tiger in Ireland was thought by many to be a model for future economic growth for countries around the world; its dramatic crash in 2008 resonated equally widely. Yet despite the magnitude of the ongoing collapse, Sean Kay shows that seen in historical perspective, the crisis is part of a much larger pattern of generations of progress and change.

Kay draws on a rich blend of research, interviews with a broad spectrum of Irish society, and his own decades of personal experience to tell the story of Ireland today. He guides the reader through the country's major economic challenges, political transformation, social change, the crisis in the Irish Catholic Church, and the rise of gay rights and multiculturalism. He takes us through the streets of Derry and Belfast to understand the Northern Ireland peace process and the daunting task of peace building that has only just begun. Finally, we see how Irish foreign policy has long been a model for balancing competing interests and values. Kay concludes by highlighting Ireland's lessons for the world and mapping a vital path for twenty-first-century challenges and opportunities for the coming generations in Ireland and beyond.
[Offers] very valuable insights into Irish culture and some very interesting reflections from interviews with key politicians, academics, and observers. . . . There is an impressive scope to the book, ranging as it does from economic crisis and fiscal policy to sexuality, religion and alcohol, and on to Northern Ireland, international relations and Irish military policy.