Almost nowhere are politics and history so intimately bound up as in Ireland. Over the course of several hundred years rival political and religious camps have shaped their identities according to particular interpretations of their shared history. As such, any re-examination and revision of Irish history has the potential to have a very real impact upon wider society. Defining revisionism in historiography as a reaction to contemporary conflict in Ireland, this book looks at how intellectuals, scholars and those who were politically involved, have reacted to a crisis of violence. It explores how they believed that revisionism in historiography was necessary - that a deconstruction, re-evaluation, and revision of ideology and therefore history was crucial in such a crisis of violence.

Dr Robert Perry specialises in the history and politics of Ireland. He received his PhD in Politics from Queen's University Belfast, and has taught at several higher education institutions in the United Kingdom, most recently at Coventry University.

Introduction, Robert Perry; Chapter 1 Revisionism, Robert Perry; Chapter 2 Revisionist Marxism, Robert Perry; Chapter 3 Revisionist Nationalism, Robert Perry; Chapter 4 Revisionist Unionism, Robert Perry; Conclusion, Robert Perry;