Once held up as a ‘poster child’ for untrammeled capitalist globalisation, the Irish Republic has more recently come to represent a cautionary tale for those tempted to tread the same neoliberal path. The crash in the world economy had especially grave repercussions for Ireland, and a series of austerity measures has seen the country endure what some consider the most substantial ‘adjustment’ ever experienced in a developed society during peacetime.

In this collection of essays, a range of academics, economists and political commentators delineate the reactionary course that Ireland has followed since the ignominious demise of the Celtic Tiger. They argue that the forces of neoliberalism have employed the economic crisis they caused to advance policies that are in their own narrow interests, and that the host of regressive measures imposed since the onset of global recession has fundamentally restructured Irish society.

The book provides a critical account of a society that has more often than most mapped out the pernicious cycle of boom and bust that remains an essential hallmark of contemporary capitalism.

‘The word austerity, with its hint of a decent plainness and admirable self-discipline, is one of the more fraudulent of contemporary euphemisms. As this compelling volume suggests, it is rather a question of violence, deprivation and despair, as the powerful and privileged once more unload their problems on to the poor. There are many fine books around, but few are as urgently necessary as this one.’
Professor Terry Eagleton, Distinguished Professor of English at Lancaster University and Professor of Cultural Theory at NUI Galway

Colin Coulter is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Maynooth University

Angela Nagle received her PhD from Dublin City University, and is a contributor to the Dublin Review of Books, the Atlantic and the Irish Times