Synopses & Reviews
The collapse of the Irish "Celtic Tiger" economy, in the wake of a banking disaster, provoked a joint EU/IMF rescue plan in late 2010. The election that followed saw Europe's most successful ever party lose more than half of its vote and almost three quarters of its seats. This book provides the definitive analysis of an electoral earthquake.
Review
"Debunking myths, separating fact from fiction, this book is an indispensable guide to understanding what really happened in our most recent election." - Gerald Barry, Editor, This Week,
RTE Radio "Over the past two decades the How Ireland Voted series has tracked election after election, providing the authoritative account by leading political science experts on Irish politics. How Ireland Voted 2007 is a must-read for any observer of Irish electoral politics, but particularly for those interested in understanding the background to, nature, and wider political outcomes of this extraordinary election." - David Farrell, University of Manchester, UK
"Gallagher and Marsh have assembled an impressive team of investigators to conduct a forensic examination of the Irish political scene, before, during and after the 2007 election. This report of their findings makes for fascinating reading and it will endure as the definitive account of what happened and why." - Noel Whelan, Political Analyst, Irish Times and RTE
"Surpasses its excellent predecessors by doing everything they did, and doing it really well, then adding fascinating new perspectives on matters such as the fulfilment of campaign pledges, the performance of both opinion polls and bookies in predicting the result, and the role of the media during the campaign." - Professor Michael Laver, New York University
"The most impressive How Ireland Voted volume to date." - John Garry, Irish Political Studies
"The achievement of the editors in shaping this book - and indeed in establishing this series - ranks among the most impressive in the ever-expanding academic literature on Irish elections." - John Bowman, Irish Times
About the Author
MICHAEL GALLAGHERis Head of the Department of Political Science at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. He has published on parties, elections and electoral systems. His recent publication include
Politics in the Republic of Ireland,5th ed (2010),
Representative Government in Modern Democracies,
5th ed (2011) and
The Politics of Electoral Systems (2008). He has been a visiting professor at City University of Hong Kong, Université de Lille and New York University.
MICHAEL MARSH is Professor of Comparative Political Behaviour and Vice Provost of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. He is a co-author of The Irish Voter (2008).
Table of Contents
1. The background to the election,
G. Murphy 2. The preparation of the manifestos, D. Farrell and J.Suiter
3. Candidate selection, T. Reidy
4. Campaign strategies and political marketing, P. Leahy
5. The internet and the election, M. Wall andM.L. Sudulich
6. The view from the campaign trail, Successful and Unsuccessful Election Candidates
7. The election results and the new Dáil, M.Gallagher
8. How the voters decided, M. Marsh
9. Transfers and Voter Preferences, R. Sinnott and J. McBride
10. Women and the Election, F. Buckley and C. McGing
11. The Seanad Election, J. Coakley
12. The formation of the government, E. O'Malley
13. The 2010 Election in Context, P. Mair
Appendice
Tables of General Election results
Members of the Government (Ministers and Ministers of state)
Explanation of the Electoral System