The objective of colonisation in Ireland was to enforce order and, to this end, settlers usurped the traditional lands of the indigenous population. Attempts to enforce Protestantism in all its forms onto the Catholic locality were doomed to fail, and amidst this continued unrest, Ireland also became a battleground in the English Civil War.

The availability of cheap Irish labour led to the protection of English agricultural prices, and the fear that Irish goods would undercut English production costs also led to measures to prevent the development of an Irish industrial revolution, despite the desperate need to employ the now surplus rural population. The inevitable consequence was famine, but efforts of Nationalist politicians to highlight the unfolding tragedy fell on deaf ears. English land owners in Parliament were only concerned with protecting landlord interests and scoring political points. If Home Rule could not be delivered by political means, it was inevitable that it would be delivered by force.

Inextricably linked with the history of Britain, Stedall guides the reader through Ireland’s turbulent but rich history. To understand the root causes behind the twentieth-century conflict, which continues to resonate today, we must look to this long arc of history.