The series Ireland Observed focuses on Irish history in the period between 1782 when Ireland gained legislative independence from Great Britain (with the repeal of the Declaratory Act and the amendment of Poyning’s Law), and the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. During this period, Ireland was in a continual state of flux, politically, economically and socially, and while there have been numerous reductionist and popular historical accounts of Ireland and the nature of the Irish people, to get a true understanding of this volatile history it is necessary to read some of the more neglected and inaccessible texts written by contemporaries in the forms of memoirs, travelogues and objective histories. This series concentrates primarily on texts as written by British and foreign outsiders who managed to write and provide major insights or snapshots of Ireland under change. Taken together the sets in this series provide a basis for a proper and balanced understanding of a complex country, useful both for an understanding of Ireland and as a way of understanding the nature of history itself. Following on from Michael Hurst’s first set in the series Ireland Observed: Colony to Dominion, 1782-1921 , this collection again focuses on some lesser-known and uncommon texts that are worthy of highlighting with a view to correcting the distortions of popular historians of Ireland in this period. German, English and Irish commentators of various ranks are represented, and taken together these contemporary texts help broaden understanding of how Ireland came to be as it is today. These texts are selected for the insights they give into the social, political and economic conditions of the developing Ireland. The works, never previously reprinted and many of which are now scarce, are reproduced here in their entirety and provided with a biographical and historical introduction by Michael Hurst.
