James Dillon: A Biography fills a significant gap in the recent political history of Ireland. It adds considerably to our understanding of how the State's institutions and political system became defined after independence. It examines, from a hitherto unexplored perspective, how the processes of parliamentary opposition operated in the new democracy which was the Irish Free State and, later, the Republic of Ireland. Indeed, one of the reasons why this book is to be welcomed is that its subject, James Dillon, has never heretofor been the focus of comparable scholarly scrutiny.
Maurice Manning's book is a valuable and original chronicle, from a unique perspective, of Ireland in formative, difficult and challenging times. It is an Ireland that is scarcely recognizable today. This is the story of a public man in the best and most complete sense of the word-a man without whose commitment to public service, Irish democracy might not be the robust and secure organism which it now is. Anyone lacking a knowledge of the life and work of James Dillon will have at best a greatly incomplete understanding of the making of modern Ireland.
Maurice Manning's book is a valuable and original chronicle, from a unique perspective, of Ireland in formative, difficult and challenging times. It is an Ireland that is scarcely recognizable today. This is the story of a public man in the best and most complete sense of the word-a man without whose commitment to public service, Irish democracy might not be the robust and secure organism which it now is. Anyone lacking a knowledge of the life and work of James Dillon will have at best a greatly incomplete understanding of the making of modern Ireland.
