Ireland in the twentieth century has had a very different history from that of most other western European countries. The two most profound shocks of the century, the world wars, met Ireland obliquely while partition and civil war were embittering first-hand experiences whose legacies continue to shape the course of events. This masterful new history is the first account to cover the whole of Ireland, north and south, from the origins of Sinn Fein at the beginning of the century to the Stormont agreement at the end. Townshend provides a concise, comprehensive, and balanced survey of the key points in Ireland's hitory, making this book ideal for anyone coming to twentieth-century Irish history for the first time.