A very competent history of the first half of the 20th century, followed by chapters on more recent events which present a muddled picture of events that the author himself was clearly involved in, and report on his interviews with a totally unrepresentative sample of southern Irish Protestants, apparently selected to repeat his own viewpoint, who present a picture of a community pining for its previous British identity. In the epilogue he presents his political viewpoint which is, roughly, that the British connection was an unmitigated blessing for Ireland.

Bought this in the hope it was going to bring some fresh thinking to the subject. Instead its just a rehash of the same theories put forward by the late Peter Hart, on whom he relies heavily. Hart's work is controversial to say the least and for someone to regurgitate it in such an uncritical manner is a travesty. As with so many of the events of this period, very little is black and white, unfortunately Bury falls into the trap and fails to grapple with the subject in any meaningful manner. Overall a disappointment, if you have read Hart this adds nothing new and is not worth investing in. Might be worth borrowing from your local library if you wish to refresh your knowledge of Hart's theories, with a sprinkling of Kevin Myers thrown in for good (!) measure. ( )