The British Monarchy and Ireland appears at a time of reignited interest in the history of monarchies, most recently exemplified by Andrzej Olechnowicz's edited collection, The Monarchy and the British Nation (Cambridge, 2007). Given this historiographical renaissance, however, it is surprising how little attention there has been to the Irish context. Other than James Murphy's Abject Loyalty (Washington, DC, 2001), Ireland has been largely sidelined, despite the potential that a comparative study with responses in Britain has to offer.

It is now well established that the political role of the monarchy had declined sharply by the middle of the nineteenth century and that the institution was crafting for itself a dual role that, on the one hand—as David Cannadine has amply demonstrated—used enhanced ceremonial to present the monarch as the visible apex of an imagined nation, and on the other hand—as Frank Prochaska has shown—employed a set of “welfarist” strategies to insinuate itself into civil society and the philanthropic sector. Taken together, these approaches helped the institution not only to survive into modernity but also to be an agent of social cohesion. Loughlin's task is to examine how these strategies were applied and responded to in the very different religious, social, and political contexts of Ireland.

For a start, in Ireland the political power of the monarchy was much harder to ignore, and Irish hopes of a sympathetic incumbent were often disappointed. William IV quickly decided coercion was better than concession, while Victoria's developing anti-Catholic and anti-Irish views are one of Loughlin's key themes. Again and again, she proved an obstacle to reform. She repeatedly opposed suggestions to establish a royal residence in the 1860s and 1870s, even though it was widely accepted that her personal connection to Scotland rankled with her Irish subjects. Moreover, she did little to disguise her absolute horror of Home Rule, and so played into the hands of Ulster unionists who wished to monopolize their attachment to the monarchy and to present nationalists as republicans. The contrast with Edward VII was striking: he went out of his way to appear conciliatory. His coronation was considered a popular success, and he was widely presumed to be supportive of Home Rule.

There was also the uncertain status of the lord lieutenant. At once the sovereign's representative and a political appointee, he did not always find it easy to manage his role. Lord Carlisle indulged in “ceremonial buffoonery” (105) and became a figure of fun, while his successor Lord Kimberley refused to partake in royal ritual and so diminished the monarchical aspect of his office. Later in the century, Lord Aberdeen deliberately tried to appeal to all shades of Irish opinion with a new “welfarist” approach, but Lord Londonderry, who was appointed by Salisbury as a sop to Ulster Protestantism, used the ritual of office to demonstrate the authority of established state structures. Indeed, there was considerable desire among Liberals either to abolish the office altogether or to fill it with a nonpolitical appointment. Gladstone, in the late 1860s, was keen that the Prince of Wales might learn more of his kingly duties in such a role, but the Queen, and indeed the Prince, were both opposed.

For Loughlin, it is not royal ceremonial as such but rather the contested nature of the royal presence that is crucial. He examines all the royal visits between George IV's in 1821 and George V's ninety years later in 1911. He shows not only the considerable stage management that went on behind the scenes to ensure the event was perceived as a success but also the way that the local and political context could shape the meanings imparted to it. Victoria's 1849 visit, for example, was very carefully controlled, and, despite difficult Anglo-Irish relations and, of course, the Famine, it seemed to pass off successfully. It was, as Loughlin suggests, an “unreal occasion” (71) divorced from the environment in which it took place. By contrast, the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1885 saw nationalist demonstrations across the south and west of Ireland and abuse at close quarters of the royal couple. This kind of public opposition made it much harder for the authorities to depict the response to royal visits as a demonstration of genuine Irish loyalty. Perhaps what is most striking, however, is that both Lord Spencer, the viceroy, and Parnell attached such importance to the royal visit. They both believed that the “image-worshipping” of the Catholic Irish made them peculiarly susceptible to the royal presence, and they tried to harness the event to their own propagandist aims.

On a more practical level, royal visitors were generally alive to the social and ritualistic complexities required of them. Loughlin argues that Albert Edward was particularly accomplished in this regard. Unlike his mother, he positively enjoyed ceremonial occasions, but he managed to combine these formal duties with the right amount of informality on social occasions. In 1868, he wore garments with Irish national signification, and he made a point of warmly shaking hands with Cardinal Cullen. Again, in 1903, he drew attention to his recent visit to the Vatican and claimed to share Catholic sorrow at the death of Pope Leo XIII. More generally, he was more identified with a “welfarist” role, which was designed to neutralize nationalist opposition. George V was also successful in projecting such an image, and he adopted a largely positive attitude to the Irish people. Moreover, he was thought highly supportive of Home Rule, and this helps explain the popularity of his 1911 visit.

Naturally enough, the bulk of this book focuses on the 1820s to the 1910s. There are, however, two further chapters that take the story up to the present day and that demonstrate ongoing ambivalence about the role of the monarchy. In the 1920s, different opinions about monarchical symbolism and the fierce opposition of republicans meant it proved impossible to use the institution to bridge the divide between north and south. Indeed, a large part of the subsequent history of the monarchy's role has been a series of attempts to keep unionists happy while reaching out across sectarian divides and across the border.

This is an important and substantial book, and it will prove invaluable to those with interests not just in the history of monarchies but also in the broader development of Anglo-Irish relations as well as the role that visible institutions can play in fomenting or conciliating differences across and between nations. For that reason, the book might more aptly be titled the politics of monarchy in Ireland—there is comparatively little social history and, oddly, not as much as there could be on the religious impact and meanings of monarchy. Nevertheless, this is an ambitious and significant work.