The partition of Ireland created two states embodying rival ideologies and representing two hostile peoples. This text concerns the revolution which prompted partition, and the legacies of that revolution for the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland.

The partition of Ireland created two states embodying rival ideologies and representing two hostile peoples. David Fitzpatrick's narrative begins with the Government of Ireland Bill of 1912 and closes with the imposition of the Emergency Powers Act in 1939. This is the first sustained integration of the political history of the two Irelands in the era of revolution and partition.

clear-sighted, unromantic and astringent ... a very fine piece of historical writing.