The book provides the first detailed, comprehensive assessment of the ideological basis and practical operation of the poor law system in the post-Famine period

This work will be essential reading for social and political historians of nineteenth-century Ireland. It is the first academic study to explore the meanings of

Beggars and begging were ubiquitous features of pre-Famine Irish society, yet have gone largely unexamined by historians. This book explores at length for the f

A pioneering new 'history from below' of Irish poverty told through the letters of the Catholic poor in Independent Ireland.

This 2nd edition of a highly respected textbook offers a comprehensive introduction to Irish social policy. It provides an accessible, critical overview taking