Vying for Victory: The 1923 General Election in the Irish Free State, ed. Elaine Callinan, Mel Farrell and Thomas Tormey

Four years ago, Micheál Martin, the leader of Fianna Fáil, described his appointment as Taoiseach, in coalition with Fine Gael, as ‘the end of Civil War politics’. Between 1922 and 1923, the predecessors of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael fought a bitter civil war in Ireland over the question of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (which seemed to compromise Irish republican ideals). As Martin’s comment suggests, the conflict casts a long shadow over Irish political culture. Yet it is striking that, just three months after the cessation of hostilities, a (largely) peaceful general election could take place.