As part of the Centre for Economics, Policy and History (CEPH)’s ongoing efforts to encourage and promote economic history research in Ireland, we are pleased to introduce the CEPH Irish Research Initiative, or CIRI. This initiative targets four specific research themes that have the potential to showcase the importance of Irish economic history to the wider field. These themes are also vital to deepening our understand of Ireland’s development in the long-run. Our approach is to leverage our wide network of researchers and our dissemination resources to encourage research in these areas. The themes are broad in scope and offer an opportunity for economic historians to participate in CEPH’s aims while furthering their own publication record and research interests.
This page serves as the archive of CIRI material compiled by CEPH. It hosts comprehensive literature reviews of the economic history that has been carried out relevant to the theme, as well as the authors who presented papers at the online workshops which informed these literature reviews. This page is under development and content will be added periodically over the next twelve months.
Industrial policy and Globalisation in Ireland
Project lead: Patrick Honohan (Trinity College Dublin) Postdoctoral coordinator: Lloyd Maphosa (QUB)
Ireland’s economic performance was influenced by the world around her. In the nineteenth century, proximity to British trade and capital is said to have stifled economic growth. Thus, after securing independence, Ireland opted for protectionist policies that were designed to separate it from a reliance on Britain. Afterwards, economic openness and a privileged location on the Atlantic seaboard provided a convenient platform to access European and American markets, attracting multinational companies for more than half a century. However, openness has presented challenges to the rising “Celtic Tiger.” These include a vulnerability to global market shocks, shifts in investor sentiments, and volatile foreign capital flows. This workshop was held on June 10th 2024.
Literature Review: Industrial Policy and Economic Globalization in Independent Ireland 1922-2000
Workshop contributors and papers:
Ciarán Casey: The political economy of Irish trade liberalisation in the 1960s
Cathal O’Donoghue: Joining the EEC an example of Unsustainable Intensification for Irish Agriculture
Frank Barry and Alison Hearne: External MNC Presence in Ireland and Northern Ireland at EEC Accession
Seán Kenny and Rebecca Stuart: Inflation Shocks and Industrial Action: The Case of Ireland in the 20th Century
Olubunmi Ipinnaiye, Helena Lenihan, Kevin Mulligan, Justin Doran, Stephen Roper: Innovation success in small and larger firms: Does persistence and diversity in R&D matter when building a unique knowledge base?
Ciarán Mac Domhnaill: All at sea? Brexit, shipping, and the UK land-bridge
Development in Agriculture
Project lead: Eoin McLaughlin (University College Cork) Postdoctoral coordinator: Richard Franke (TCD)
Agriculture is pivotal to the story of Ireland, both historically and today. It provided employment, drove exports and dominated policy debates deep into the twentieth century. Throughout this period, the importance of agriculture waned, overtaken first by industry and then by the modern-service economy. This invites the question of why agriculture could not ‘modernise’ more quickly, an issue which vexed policymakers throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Understanding the path of rural development in Ireland is crucial for interpreting both agricultural history and the ongoing story of Irish regional equality. This workshop was held on November 11th 2024.
Literature Review:
Workshop contributors and papers:
Mícheál Ó Fathartaigh: Bucking the Trend, Following the Trend: Change and Continuity in Irish Agricultural Development, 1900–1972
Michael Loughman: ‘Almost revolutionary in its concentration upon tillage’—The Irish state and reforming Irish agriculture in the 1930s
Míde Griffin, Seán Lyons, Anne Nolan: Domestic Technology and Human Capital Formation: Rural Electrification and Secondary School Participation in Ireland
Ronan Lyons, Alan de Bromhead, Johann Ohler: Build Back Better Health: Public Housing and the late-19th Century Mortality Transition
Declan O’Brien: The birth of Ireland’s beef processing industry 1950–60
Paul Sharp, Eoin McLaughlin, Christian Volmar Skovsgaard, Christian Vedel: Milk Wars: Creamery Contestation and the Irish War of Independence
Religion, Division and Development
Project lead: Alan de Bromhead (University College Dublin) Postdoctoral coordinator: Julia Zimmerman (UC3M)
Religion has played a pivotal role in shaping Ireland’s political economy, especially through community-building and conflict. The division between Christian denominations impacted access to education, capital, and political power, as well as the distribution of wealth. These divisions were a catalyst for armed conflicts throughout Irish history, including the 1798 Rebellion, the Revolutionary Decade and the Troubles. These were born out of, and subsequently reinforced, a landscape where religious identity was closely tied to economic outcomes and opportunities. This workshop was held on December 10th 2024
Literature Review:
Workshop contributors and papers:
Alan Fernihough: Protestantism and Human Capital: Evidence From Early 20th Century Ireland
Stuart Brown: Alexander Brown: Merchant Prince, International Finance and Irish Presbyterian Networks in the Nineteenth Century
Gabriel Koehler-Derrick: Just a Number? Age Misstatement and the Old-Age Pension in Colonial Ireland
Liam Kennedy: Social and Economic Aspects of Baptism, Marriage, and Funerals in 19th-Century Ireland
Neil Rowland: Understanding Catholic/Protestant Unemployment Differentials in Northern Ireland: Evidence from Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, 1991-2011
Luca Bertolani Azerredo: Shaping the Youth of Conflict: Religious Divides and the Foundations of Irish Paramilitary Organizations
Migration and Demography
Project lead: Áine Doran (Ulster University) Postdoctoral coordinator: Christian Maruthiah (TCD)
Migration – both internal and international – has been a defining feature of Ireland’s economic and social history, shaping both demographic trends and broader structural changes. The Great Famine of the 1840s triggered mass emigration to destinations such as Australia, England, Canada, and (primarily) the United States, which roughly halved Ireland’s population by the early 20th century. Internal and international migration has remained a salient feature of the Irish demographic landscape in the 20th century, driven by political upheavals, including the 1919 War of Independence and Partition, as well as persistent out-migration from Ireland’s rural districts. This workshop will be held on May 23rd 2025, and the call for papers is open now.
Literature Review:
Workshop contributors and papers:
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