Examiner:  Professor Terence Brown, University of Dublin

Question 1: Essay

Candidates will be required to write an essay chosen from a number of topics.  These will include topics of general social, cultural and political interest as well as a number of more specific topics in such fields as law and ethics, literature, history.

Suggested time to allocate for essay: 1hour and 30 minutes.

Question 2: Prose

Candidates will be asked to paraphrase a selected prose passage.  In their answers, they will be expected to show comprehension and to summarise the passage accurately.

Suggested time to answer this question: 45 minutes.

Question 3: Letter Writing

Candidates will be required to write a letter explaining a complex issue or situation, described in the examination paper.  They will be invited to formulate the letter in terms readily comprehensible to a specific imaginary recipient.

Suggested time to answer this question: 30 minutes.

There will be a three-hour examination paper. Candidates will be required to answer four questions. The format is designed to test candidates over the whole of the course.

Important texts carry an asterisk (*)

Recommended Reading: 

The key recommended text for this examination is: 

• John Coakley, Michael Gallagher, Eoin O’Malley, Theresa Reidy eds., Politics in the Republic of
  Ireland, seventh edition, Routledge, 2024.

Another useful text is: 

• David Farrell and Niamh Hardiman eds., The Oxford Handbook of Irish Politics, Oxford University Press 2021. 

Useful academic journals include:

• Irish Political Studies, Administration, The Economic and Social Review.

The course is grouped into four modules. In addition, there is an optional fifth module dealing with the 
Institutions and operation of the European Community (European Union).

1. The context of the Irish Political System

Candidates should have a broad knowledge of Irish political development from Grattan’s Parliament to the creation of the state and more substantial knowledge of political developments since 1922. You should have a sufficient knowledge of the economic and social background of the state, and particularly of demographic developments, to cope with questions on Irish political culture. The impact of European Community membership on the Irish system should be noted.

Recommended reading:

• Coakley/Gallagher, chaps 1, 2, 13, 14.

For reference, good standard modern Irish histories are:

• J.J. Lee, Ireland 1912 – 1985: politics and society, Cambridge UP 1989.
• Roy Foster, Modern Ireland 1600 – 1972, Allan Lane 1988.
• F.S.L. Lyons, Ireland since the Famine, Fontana 1973.
• Dermot Keogh, Ireland & Europe 1919 – 1989, Hibernian University Press 1990.
• Terence Brown, Ireland: A Social and Cultural History 1922 – 2002, Harper Perennial 2010.
• Diarmaid Ferriter, The Transformation of Ireland, Profile Books, 2005. 

2. Origins and Developments of Modern Irish Constitutionalism

An accurate and comprehensive knowledge of the Constitution is a pre-requisite; you should obtain your own copy of *Bunreacht na hEireann which you may bring to the Examination.

It is also necessary to know and understand how the Constitution has developed both by formal amendment and by judicial review. Candidates should be able to discuss the role of constitutionalism in Irish political development, the significance of both the First Dail and its constitutional documents in the creation of a stable state system, the origins and main provisions of, and major amendments to, the Irish Constitution.

Recommended reading:

Read a general commentary on Irish constitutional development. For example:

• *Brian Farrell, ed. De Valera’s Constitution and Ours, Gill & Macmillan 1988.
• Dermot Keogh & Andrew J. McCarthy, The Making of the Irish Constitution 1937, Cork University Press, 2007
• Gerard Hogan, The Origins of the Irish Constitution 1928 – 1941, Royal Irish Academy 2012.
• Frank Litton, ed., The Constitution of Ireland 1937 – 1987 IPA 1988.

On constitutional origins of the State, First Dáil and Irish Free State Constitution, see:

• Brian Farrell, ed., The Irish Parliamentary Tradition, Gill & Macmillan 1973
• Brian Farrell, ed., “From First Dail Through Irish Free State” in Farrell, De Valera’s Constitution and Ours
• Tom Garvin, The Evolution of Irish Nationalist Politics, Gill & Macmillan 1981 – especially chaps. 7 & 8.
• Tom Garvin, Nationalist Revolutionaries in Ireland, 1856 – 1927, Oxford, 1987.
• *Tom Garvin, 1922: The Birth of Irish Democracy, Gill & Macmillan 1996.
• Laura Cahillane, Drafting the Free State Constitution, Manchester University Press 2016.
• Mel Farrell, Party Politics in a New Democracy, Palgrave Macmillan 2017.

On drafting, provisions of and amendments to Bunreacht na hEireann and cases see:

• Oran Doyle & Tom Hickey, Constitutional Law: Text, Cases and Materials, 2nd ed., Clarus Press 2019.
• Jennifer Kavanagh, Constitutional Law in Ireland, Clarus Press 2022.
• J.A. Foley & S. Lalor, Annotated Constitution of Ireland, Gill & Macmillan 1995.
• Micheal O Cearuil, Two Texts or Two Constitutions?, Ireland Institute 2002. Bunreacht na hEireann.

3. Representation:  Parliament, Parties and People

This module is concerned with the operation of representative democracy in Ireland. Central topics are:

• the mechanics of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (includes how to establish the quota);
• origins, development and sources of support for main Irish political parties;
• Irish electoral history (candidates should know something of significant earlier elections, 1918, 1922, 1932, 1933, 1948, and have fuller information on more recent elections since 1969);
• changes in party support in the last 20 years; powers and procedures of the Dail (including stages of bills);
• recruitment and role of Dail deputies;
• representation of women in Irish politics; the role of direct and deliberative democracy. 

Recommended reading:

• Coakley, Gallagher, O’Malley & Reidy chaps. 4 – 9, 11.
• Michael Marsh, David Farrell, Theresa Reidy, The Post-Crisis Irish Voter, Manchester University Press 2018.
• Michael Marsh, Richard Sinnott, John Garry, Fiachra Kennedy, The Irish Voter: The Nature of Electoral Competition in the Republic of Ireland, Manchester University Press 2008.
• Lila Haines, Radicals and Realists: Political Parties in Ireland – A Concise History, Welsh Academic Press 2022.
• Peter Mair, The Changing Irish Political Party System: Organisation, Ideology and Electoral Competition, Continuum International Publishing 1988.
• Michael Gallagher, Political parties in the Republic of Ireland, Manchester UP 1985.

See also the How Ireland Voted series and the Nealon Guides for more detailed information.

4. The Cabinet and Government System

This module will require you to show an understanding of:

• the constitutional, legal and political context within which the Irish governmental system operates; the role of Taoiseach and ministers;
• cabinet procedures and conventions, including collective responsibility and confidentiality; the administration of central government and policy making.

Recommended reading:

• Coakley, Gallagher, O’Malley & Reidy, chap. 10. See also references listed in chap. 10

5. The Government and politics of the European Union

(Candidates are reminded that this is an optional module)

This module requires a good general knowledge of the major institutions of the European Union.

Their powers, functions and limitations and the relationship between the various institutions. Candidates should be able to discuss developments within the European Union and consider the processes of decision-making and policy implementation. Candidates should also be familiar with the debates and developments surrounding the politics of ‘Brexit’, including how this relates to Northern Ireland. 

Recommended reading:

• Herman Lelieveldt, The Politics of the European Union, Cambridge University Press 2023.
• Michael Holmes & Kathryn Simpson eds., Ireland and the European Union, Manchester University Press 2021.
• Mary Murphy, Europe and Northern Ireland’s Future, Agenda Publishing 2018. 
• See also Coakley, Gallagher, O’Malley & Reidy, chap. 14

Examination

There will be a three-hour examination paper. Candidates will be required to answer four questions. 

The format is designed to test candidates over the whole of the course.

Examiner: Dr Eoin O’Malley, Associate Professor in Political Science, Dublin City University

This one-and-a-half hour paper is designed to test your knowledge, awareness and understanding of the  world about you. Candidates will be expected to answer short questions on aspects of current affairs and politics (including matters outlined in the Irish Government & Politics and EC modules listed under Paper 3), the arts, sports and general knowledge.

Some questions will be set to encompass events within the previous 12 months, as reported in the media (e.g. you will be expected to identify notable geographical locations mentioned in news reports, major sporting and cultural events, and newsworthy people). Other questions will require you to exhibit a broad knowledge of, for example, major Irish and international institutions, common abbreviations, major historical events and well-established names and titles in music, literature and the arts.

There is no prescribed syllabus and no recommended text. Candidates should be particularly attentive to quality newspapers and broadcasting, and focus on events in the previous 12 month.