Ireland, Europe and the Marshall Plan

Till Geiger & Michael Kennedy editors

'The collection brings new empirical research and interpretative insights to the existing debate. The papers draw upon detailed archival research. The book is a useful, accessible and thought provoking text for students and researchers as it summarizes and develops several dimensions of Ireland’s failure to embrace international and regional economic and political changes until the late 1950s', Mervyn O’Driscoll.

‘Geiger’s introduction stands out. It effectively encapsulates much of the existing historiography on Ireland and the Marshall Plan and summarizes the volume’s own contributions to the literature … Michael Kennedy’s essay on the Marshall Plan and the expansion of the Irish diplomatic service is engagingly written, and its thesis – that it was Ireland’s participation in the ERP that led to the notable growth and ‘Europeanization’ of the Irish Department of External Affairs after World War II – is well supported … In his introduction, Geiger expresses his hope that the differences in interpretation set forth in the volume will “spark some debate among historians and … encourage future research on Ireland, Europe and the Marshall Plan” ... the book fulfills that aspiration, with Girvin’s essay doing so most effectively’, Troy D. Davis, American Historical Review (April 2006).