"There can have been few appointments by any president of Ireland to membership of the Council of State as worthy as his nomination by Michael D. Higgins" -J.J. Lee

Culture and Society in Ireland since 1750: Essays in honour of Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh collects specially commissioned texts and essays to commemorate one of irleand's most distinguished academics and educators, Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh.

Writing on many aspects of modern Irish history, culture and the Irish language, Ó Tuathaigh is best celebrated for his book Ireland before the Famine: 1798- 1850, which remains one of the most important surveys of nineteenth-century Ireland. Contributions include essays on diverse subject-matters by leading scholars including Joëp Leersen, Meidhbhín Ní Úrdail, Cormac Ó Grada, Tom Dunne, and Owen Dudley Edwards. Niall Ó Ciosáin and Micheál Ó Conghaile write on language and literature; Matthew Potter, Andrew Shields,Gerard Moran, Laurence Marley, John Cunningham, Tony Varley and Catriona Clear examine social and political issues; Úna Ní Bhroiméil, Mary Harris, Méabh Ní Fhuartháin and James S.Donnelly Jr. explore cultural and religious identities. Thomas Bartlett, Thomas A. Boylan, Ciara Boylan, Gabriel Doherty and Maura Cronin look at institutions in state and society. J.J. Lee furnishes an introduction. Marie Boran and Margaret Hughes offer a bibliography of Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh's historical writings.