The concepts of Ireland and 'Irishness' are in constant flux in the wake of an ever-increasing reappraisal of the notion of cultural and national specificity in a world assailed from all angles by the forces of globalisation and uniformity.

In a bitterly divided 19th century Ireland, consensus was sought in the new discipline of political economy which claimed to transcend all divisions. This book explores the failure of that mission in the wake of the great famine of 1846-7.

A collection of 13 essays commemorating the 150th anniversary of the opening of Queen's College Galway in 1845 (formerly known at University College Galway and now known as National University of Ireland [NUI).

"This essay is part of the interdisciplinary series Famine Folios, covering many aspects of the Great Hunger in Ireland from 1845-52"--Title page verso.