ABSTRACT
Irish political culture is the unique outgrowth of three significant and mutually reinforcing forces of the twentieth century: nationalism, Irish Catholicism, and the influence of Great Britain. Ireland's political culture, moreover, illustrates the ongoing impact of the process of economic and social modernization. The cumulative growth of nationalism in Ireland culminated in the war for independence from 1919 to 1921 under the aegis of Sinn Fein. Catholicism, the second important element of the Irish political culture, was and is a powerful presence in the Republic of Ireland. The influence of Britain on Ireland is so extensive as to defy brief description. The impact on the political culture has been to infuse Irish political attitudes with British ideas, institutions, and processes while the Irish either deny that influence or explicitly reject it. The Dail Eireann, set up in 1919, was the embodiment of the Republic declared by the rebels of 1916.
