The Irish question and British politics, 1868-1986 (British history in perspective)

Was the Irish Question, as Disraeli put it, "The Pope one minute, and potatoes the next?". D.G.Boyce in The Irish Question and British Politics, 1868-1986 seeks to discover why and with what consequences, Ireland and Irish affairs became a "question" in British politics. He argues that the very act of perceiving it as a "question" contributed to the political response to Irish affairs by both British and Irish politicians; and asks whether this same perception continues to inhibit our thinking about the politics of modern Ireland.