Perils and Prospects of a United Ireland

Padraig O’Malley

As a major voice on the topic of divided societies, from Northern Ireland to South Africa and the Middle East over the past half century, Padraig O’Malley’s latest book is a welcome addition to the literature, especially now, when the prospect of a united Ireland seems closer than it has been in the last century. During the pandemic, O’Malley interviewed 97 political leaders, academics and political influencers, focusing on the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Good Friday Agreement, Brexit, Unionism and Nationalism, as well as the economics of reunification or continued partition, and the wide range of Northern Irish identities. Born and raised in Dublin, O’Malley emigrated to Boston in 1965 to pursue academics, and his focus was changed utterly by the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry in 1969. Since then, he has become a foremost authority on Northern Ireland, while also playing an important role as a convenor of opposing parties to work out their differences. O’Malley is based at the McCormack Graduate School of Public Policy at University of Massachusetts in Boston, where he holds the Joe Moakley Chair of Peace and Reconciliation.
Lilliput Press / 500 pages / $40 hardcover / March 2023