Ireland and Empire in the Late Nineteenth Century, by Fergal O’Leary

Ireland and Empire in the Late Nineteenth Century, reviewed by Michael De Nie
Published in The English Historical Review, January 2025.
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Abstract

Ireland’s relationship with the British Empire has long interested scholars, although in its early stages Irish imperial studies focused largely on Nationalist opposition to empire or on debates over Ireland’s precise colonial or imperial status. Happily, in the past ten years or so a consensus has been reached that Ireland occupied a hybrid position, both colonial and imperial, which has in turn allowed more space for studies that explore the variety, depth and ambiguities of Irish imperial sensibilities and experiences. Fergal O’Leary’s new book is one such work, examining how empire was presented, understood and debated in Irish society during the era of the New Imperialism. O’Leary uses a series of topical studies grouped in three broad categories (Politics, Culture and Society) to chart the extent of Irish interest and involvement in empire as well as the ways in which its experiences and outlook differed from the rest of the United Kingdom. A central theme of the book is that Ireland in this period was simultaneously a colonial (or perhaps anticolonial) and imperial society that witnessed the growth of both nationalist and imperial/super-regional identities.