The rift in the nationalist movement brought about by the Parnell split in the final years of the nineteenth century prompted an entrenchment of the nationalist political elites, that was heightened by agrarian agitation and the third home rule crisis. Within unionism the erosion of the ascendancy elite was underway, amplified by changing land ownership due to the land acts, an emerging Catholic merchant class, and a growing cultural nationalism. Declan Brady examines this progressive shift in the political elites in Fingal, north Dublin, to explain the nature, causes and extent of that change up to the outbreak of the First World War.
Chapter one focuses on those involved in local electoral politics to examine the material and intellectual decisions of politicians, landowners, merchants, employers and institutional bodies. All exercised considerable influence over the everyday affairs in the locality, with unionist voices being dominant. Nationalist voices were coming to the fore, and by the end of the century change was resonating locally in Fingal, reflecting countrywide change at the micro level as the system of patronage and privilege drew to a close.
Chapter two investigates this change through the transformation within local administration largely brought about by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. The neophyte labour movement and separatist nationalism were beginning to challenge, if not yet dispose of, incumbent elites. Brady introduces us to three families who feature heavily in the political life of Fingal – the O'Neills, Kettles and Lawlesses. Chapter three sees the convergence of national and local with the dramatic outcome of the 1910 general elections. Familial and marriage ties strengthened nationalist alliances in Fingal and the constitutional nationalist movement continued to enjoy clerical and popular support. Socialism, Larkinism, trade unionism and republican nationalism now competed with constitutional nationalism and unionism, impacting upon the lives and outlook of the Fingal population.
In the second work under review, Janet Moody brings to life a micro-community of 527 people in 132 families living in thirty tenement houses in Church Street, Dublin. On 2 September 1913 at about 8.45 p.m. houses 66 and 67 Church Street collapsed, resulting in the deaths of seven people. This work explores life on this street before disaster struck. Using the 1911 census, extensive voice is given to a micro-community that lived in numbers 39–76 Church Street.
In chapter one we meet the families and see that names show an interesting English influence in terms of both first and surnames. Dublin city had high marriage rates and high fertility rates, with the nuclear family being the norm. Single men and women often remained with their parents, but it was also a long-standing practice to take in lodgers, who were primarily male. Infant mortality rates were horrifically high – of the 371 children born to women, only 231 were still living in 1911. This chapter also identifies migration patterns to Dublin and investigates skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled employment in the city. Moody calculated through the census records that the Church Street residents were overwhelmingly Catholic, working class, and English speaking.
The research builds a picture of Church Street and the surrounding neighbourhood with its industrial base, religious institutions and stores. Most engaging is the short commentary on the entertainment pursuits of residents which shows that they did not spend all their time out working or at home in the tenements. They enjoyed the local park, the talks and entertainments in the Father Mathew temperance hall, and the community camaraderie and tradition of sharing limited resources. The gendered division of leisure pursuits was particularly interesting – the pub and betting appealed to men, whereas women's social life centred more on the church. Recreational activities and Dublin city society in general perhaps warrant a few more pages, particularly because Moody concludes that Church Street residents found relief in religious belief, community spirit and (not just) alcohol.
For political historians, scholars and those with an interest in local history Brady's study of politics at the micro-level is a valuable contribution. If there is to be criticism levelled at all at this fascinating study, it would be a desire for more about the voice of the ordinary people in reaction to political decisions. While Moody's study is a snapshot in time, and many of the findings reflect that of other Dublin city tenements, she lifts the veil on tenement living on this street to create a world before it tumbled down in the tragic disaster of September 1913.
