{"title":"Kevin Meagher","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"what-a-bloody-awful-country-book-kevin-meagher-9781785907593","title":"What a Bloody Awful Country","description":"“For God’s sake, bring me a large Scotch. What a bloody awful country!” Home Secretary Reginald Maudling, returning from his first visit to Northern Ireland in 1970  As a long and bloody guerrilla war staggered to a close on the island of Ireland, Britain beat a retreat from all but a small portion of the country – and thus, in 1921, Northern Ireland was born.  That partition, says Kevin Meagher, has been an unmitigated disaster for Nationalists and Unionists alike. Following the fraught history of British rule in Ireland, a better future was there for the taking but was lost amid political paralysis, while the resulting fifty years of devolution succeeded only in creating a brooding sectarian stalemate that exploded into the Troubles.  In a stark but reasoned critique, Meagher traces the landmark events in Northern Ireland’s century of existence, exploring the missed signals, the turning points, the principled decisions that should have been taken, as well as the raw realpolitik of how Northern Ireland has been governed over the past 100 years.  Thoughtful and sometimes provocative, What a Bloody Awful Country reflects on how both Loyalists and Republicans might have played their cards differently and, ultimately, how the actions of successive British governments have amounted to a masterclass in failed statecraft.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49523465847057,"sku":"GOR012575197","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49542908379409,"sku":"GOR012695871","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49744308633873,"sku":"NGR9781785907593","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/178590759X.jpg?v=1750766494"},{"product_id":"united-ireland-book-kevin-meagher-9781785906657","title":"A United Ireland","description":"For over two centuries, the 'Irish question' has dogged UK politics. Though the Good Friday Agreement carved a fragile peace from the bloodshed of the Troubles, the Brexit process has shown a largely uncomprehending British audience just how uneasy that peace always was - and thrown new light on Northern Ireland's uncertain constitutional status.  Remote from the British mainland in its politics, economy and cultural attitudes, Northern Ireland is, in effect, in an antechamber, its place within the UK conditional on the border poll guaranteed by the peace process.  As shifting demographic trends erode the once-dominant Protestant-Unionist majority, making a future referendum a racing certainty, the reunification of Ireland becomes a question not of if but when - and how.  In this new, fully updated edition of A United Ireland, Kevin Meagher argues that a reasoned, pragmatic discussion about Britain's relationship with its nearest neighbour is now long overdue, and questions that have remained unasked (and perhaps unthought) must now be answered.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49526786982161,"sku":"GOR012119297","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49742641430801,"sku":"NGR9781785906657","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50390456074513,"sku":"CIN1785906658G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51050807394577,"sku":"NIN9781785906657","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52621809189137,"sku":"GOR012701218","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53131518050577,"sku":"GOR014761655","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785906658.jpg?v=1751312790"},{"product_id":"what-a-bloody-awful-country-book-kevin-meagher-9781785906664","title":"What A Bloody Awful Country","description":"'For God's sake, bring me a large Scotch. What a bloody awful country!' HOME SECRETARY REGINALD MAUDLING, RETURNING FROM HIS FIRST VISIT TO NORTHERN IRELAND IN 1970   In the early years of the twentieth century, simmering discontent began to boil over on the island of Ireland as the nascent IRA took its guerrilla campaign against British rule to the streets. By 1921, Britain had beaten a retreat from all but a small portion of the country - and thus Northern Ireland was born.  Kevin Meagher argues that partition has been an unmitigated disaster for Nationalists and Unionists alike. As the long and fraught history of British rule in Ireland staggered to a close, a better future was there for the taking but was lost amid political paralysis, while the resulting fifty years of devolution succeeded only in creating a brooding sectarian stalemate that exploded into the Troubles.  In a stark but reasoned critique, Meagher traces the landmark events in Northern Ireland's century of existence, exploring the missed signals, the turning points, the principled decisions that at various stages should have been taken, as well as the raw realpolitik of how Northern Ireland has been governed over the past 100 years.  Thoughtful and sometimes provocative, What a Bloody Awful Country reflects on how both Loyalists and Republicans might have played their cards differently and, ultimately, how the actions of successive British governments have amounted to a masterclass in failed statecraft.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49527709794577,"sku":"GOR011438487","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49527711006993,"sku":"GOR011559729","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49740338561297,"sku":"NGR9781785906664","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50302945984785,"sku":"CIN1785906666VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50520251924753,"sku":"GOR012403066","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51051041128721,"sku":"NIN9781785906664","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53090102411537,"sku":"CIN1785906666G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785906666.jpg?v=1751427486"},{"product_id":"united-ireland-book-kevin-meagher-9781785901720","title":"A United Ireland","description":"For over two centuries, the 'Irish Question' has dogged British politics in one form or another - Northern Ireland's 'Troubles' being perhaps the bloodiest manifestation. And although the past twenty years have seen intensive efforts to secure a devolved local settlement via the Good Friday Agreement, its principle of consent - which holds that the country cannot leave the UK without a majority vote - has meant that the constitutional status of Northern Ireland remains moot.Remote from the UK mainland in terms of its politics, economy and societal attitudes, Northern Ireland is placed, in effect, in an antechamber - subject to shifting demographic trends which are eroding the once-dominant Protestant Unionist majority, making a future referendum on the province's status a racing certainty. Indeed, in the light of Brexit and a highly probable second independence referendum in Scotland, the reunification of Ireland is not a question of 'if', but 'when' - and 'how'.In A United Ireland, Kevin Meagher argues that a reasoned, pragmatic discussion about Britain's relationship with its nearest neighbour is now long overdue, and questions that have remained unasked (and perhaps unthought) must now be answered.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49552212459793,"sku":"GOR008393583","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50098842698001,"sku":"GOR009781336","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51317757313297,"sku":"GOR014225454","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785901729.jpg?v=1751215868"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-kevin-meagher.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}