Canada and Ireland

A Political and Diplomatic History

By Philip J. Currie

UBC Press

Canada and Ireland authoritatively investigates political relations between the two countries, from partition to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Until now, scholarly interest in Canada’s relationship with Ireland has focused largely on the years leading to the consolidation of the Irish Free State in the 1920s, leaving the rest of the twentieth century mostly unexamined.

Canadians have been involved in, intrigued by, and frustrated with Irish politics, from the Fenian Raids of the 1860s to the present day. In an effort to better understand Canada’s relationship with Ireland, Philip J. Currie painstakingly analyzes the origins, trials, and successes of the intimate and sometimes turbulent connection between the two countries. Relying on extensive archival research, he shows how domestic controversies and international concerns have moulded Ottawa’s responses to Irish political and constitutional developments, such as Ireland’s neutrality in the Second World War, its unsettled relationship with the Commonwealth, its position on the Atlantic alliance, and the always contentious issue of Irish unification.

This exhaustive work fills a long-neglected gap in the scholarly record.

Scholars and general readers of Canadian, Irish, and British political history will find this intriguing study to be essential.

Two sections of images and the impressive base of sources speak to the extensive research underlying this work. J.M. O'Leary, CHOICE Connect

[Philip Currie] has done a commendable job in exploring the relationship between Ireland and his adopted country. [Canada and Ireland] is an excellent scholarly work. Tony McCulloch, University College London, The British Journal of Canadian Studies

This is a brilliant and much needed book. Currie is to be congratulated for focussing on the unrecognized and undiscussed issues in Canadian-Irish history and compiling such a balanced and sophisticated analysis. This will be a perfect text to accompany any Irish history course taught in Canada. Francis M. Carroll, University of Manitoba, Canadian Journal of Irish Studies

Philip Currie’s book helps to illuminate the woefully neglected topic of Canada-Ireland diplomatic history. He is to be commended for such a robust work. Asa McKercher, assistant professor, History, Royal Military College of Canada

As the eightieth anniversary of the initiation of formal diplomatic relations between Ottawa and Dublin has just passed, Canada and Ireland is a timely book and a strong addition to its field. Michael Kennedy, executive editor, Documents on Irish Foreign Policy, Royal Irish Academy

Philip J. Currie holds advanced degrees in Canadian politics and British history. A Canadian citizen, he is a native of County Down, Northern Ireland.

Introduction

1 The Irish Home Rule Debate, 1882–1921

2 French Canadians and the Irish Question, 1882–1921

3 Parallel Paths? Canada and Ireland, 1921–1939

4 Unionism versus Nationalism in Northern Ireland

5 "Ourselves Alone?" Neutral Eire and the Commonwealth at War

6 Establishing the Irish Republic, 1948–1949

7 Irish Questions

8 Canada and Ireland in the 1950s

9 Ireland: Roads not Taken

10 Canada: Change and Continuity

11 Canada and the Early Troubles, 1969–1972