In Arthur Griffith there is a mighty force in Ireland. He has none of the wildness of some I could name. Instead there is an abundance of wisdom and an awareness of things which are Ireland. – Michael Collins *** As a working-class Dubliner who played a crucial role in inspiring and leading Dail Eireann in its formative stages, Arthur Griffith’s life is both a fascinating story and one of the greatest windows into the dynamics of the Irish revolution. This major in-depth biography of a founder of the Irish state is based on original research, analyzing and interpreting Griffith’s life and providing a fresh analysis into the economic basis of the political history of the era. The part played by the revolutionary underground in the politics of the era is explained, as is the evolution of an Irish Christian-democratic constitutional tradition. Griffith has been typified as ‘the last Young Irelander’ because of his conception of Irish nationhood and the green, white, and orange symbolism of the Young Irelanders’ rebel flag of 1848.This significant account reflects that reality by examining the often very different conceptions of Irish nationalism that existed before and after the formation of the Irish state. *** Librarians: ebook available on ProQuest and EBSCO [Subject: Biography, Irish Studies, Politics]