Book contents
- The Minority Mind
- The Minority Mind
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Minorities Matter
- Part I Democracy and Fear
- Part II Strategies in Times of Retrenchment
- Part III World Crises and the Refashioning of Minority Identities
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - Minorities Matter
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 July 2026
Book contents
- The Minority Mind
- The Minority Mind
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Minorities Matter
- Part I Democracy and Fear
- Part II Strategies in Times of Retrenchment
- Part III World Crises and the Refashioning of Minority Identities
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In Ireland, the origins of the notion of ‘minorities’ as categories of political analysis is associated with the democratisation of the representative system and the proposal of Home Rule, from 1885–6. Together these measures presented the prospect of a shift from parliamentary to popular sovereignty and the emergence of Ireland as a distinct self-governing – and overwhelmingly Catholic – country. This chapter examines how both Jews and Protestants responded to these developments and discusses the relations between the two groups. It also discusses how early Zionism in Ireland was related to these constitutional developments and discusses in detail the role of class and geographical distribution in defining the attitudes of the minorities and their sense of identity. The two religious minorities, and especially the Protestants, supported each other when it was in their interest to do so. However, besides political opportunism, there was a genuine elective affinity between them, which are explored herein. The final part of the chapter discusses the historiography.
Information
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- The Minority MindJews and Protestants in Catholic Ireland, 1912–1968, pp. 7 - 44Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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