Book review: Governing Ireland: from cabinet government to delegated governance by Eoin O’Malley and Muiris MacCarthaigh

The structures of Irish government were once considered reliably stable and efficient, but the economic crash of 2008 swept away all such sureties. How did those in government fail to foresee the challenges and avert a crisis that has undermined the state in many respects? Liz Carolan finds that Governing Ireland maintains a considered, confident and probing air, collecting together the personal and surprisingly outspoken analysis of the country’s top political scientists. Governing Ireland: From Cabinet Government to Delegated Governance. Eoin O’Malley and Muiris MacCarthaigh. IPA. March 2012. 312 pages.