Between 1916 and 1923 Ireland experienced a political as well as a military revolution. This book examines how - after the Easter Rising of 1916 - radical revolutionaries formed a precarious coalition with (relatively) moderate politicians. The new Sinn Féin party routed its enemies, co-operated uneasily with the underground Irish government, and achieved most of its objectives before disintegrating in 1922. Its rapid collapse should not distract from its achievements - in particular its role in democratising the Irish revolution - while its successors have since dominated the political life of independent Ireland.

Prologue. Before the Easter Rising: 1. Irish nationalists: politicians and rebels; The Irish Revolution: 2. 1916: rebellion and hibernation; 3. 1917: organisation and converts; 4. 1918: reverses and victory; 5. The party: structures and members; 6. Policy: beliefs and attitudes; 7. 1919¿21: war and repression; 8. 1919¿21: ministers and bureaucrats; 9. 1921¿2: the treaty and the split; 10. 1922¿3: the Pact election and the civil war; Epilogue: After the Civil War; 11. Irish republicans: fundamentalists and compromisers; Sources.

Michael Laffan is a member of the School of History at University College, Dublin. His previous publications include The Partition of Ireland, 1911¿1925 (1983) and, as editor, The Burden of German History 1919¿1945 (1988).