Ireland 1970-2020 covers the whole island of Ireland and is one of several country surveys that
Gretton Books is publishing during 2024 under the overall rubric of ‘1974 Fifty Years On’.
The surveys developed from the positive reception that greeted our 2020 publication ‘1974 – A World in Flux’ by Joe Brydon.
The aim of the series and each country survey is to provide a social, historical, political and cultural analysis over a fifty year period. Each of the surveys is written primarily for those aged 16-24 (the next generation) and appropriate for those soon to start, or already at, college or university, but is expected to appeal more widely as well.
[island of] Ireland 1970-2020 Colum Kenny
Barrister, journalist and Professor Emeritus, Dublin City University
ISBN 978-1-7392067-5-8 paperback £7.99 iv+90pp
e-book from February 2026 (excluding illustrations) ISBN 978-1-06833663-5-5 £5.00
CONTENTS
| 1 | What’s in a name? |
| 2 | Introduction |
| 3 | Changes: 1970-1979 |
| 4 | Set-Backs: 1980-1989 |
| 5 | Birth of the Celtic Tiger: 1990-1999 |
| 6 | Boom and Bust: 2000-2009 |
| 7 | Recovery: 2010-2020 |
| 8 | Into the Future |
| Additional reading |
ILLUSTRATIONS
| ‘Bloody Sunday’ 1972 |
| Mary Robinson elected President in 1990 |
| Mo Mowlam UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1998 |
| Gaelic Athletic Association welcomes diversity in sport, 2020 |
| Lesbian and Gay Pride Day, Dublin 2003 |