From your study of this chapter you should have an awareness of political developments in Ireland during the early period of this topic. In particular, you should now know how Ireland became a republic and the challenges the first inter-party government faced when Noel Browne attempted to introduce the Mother and Child Scheme. As you have seen, the Catholic Church had an influential role in government policy. However, the most significant challenge faced by subsequent Irish governments was to find ways of stimulating the Irish economy after it went into sharp decline in the early 1950s.
QUESTIONS
REVISION 1. What was Ireland’s economy like immediately after World War II?
2. What factors contributed to Fianna Fáil’s defeat in the 1948 election? 3. What parties formed the first inter-party government? 4. Who was J.J. McElligott? 5. What steps did the inter-party government take to improve the economy? 6. What were Noel Browne’s successes as Minister for Health? 7. What was the goal of the Mother and Child Scheme? 8. Why did both the Catholic Church and doctors oppose the Mother and Child Scheme?
9. What was the significance of the Republic of Ireland Act of 1948 and how did the British government respond to it?
10. Why did the Irish government refuse to join NATO? 11. What role did Seán MacBride play in foreign affairs? 12. What developments contributed to the collapse of the inter-party government?
HIGHER LEVEL 1. What were the successes and failures of the first inter-party government, 1948–1951? 2. What impact did Archbishop John Charles McQuaid have on Irish society? (2009) 3. Which did the first inter-party Government handle better, Ireland’s internal or external affairs?
4. What difficulties did Noel Browne face in attempting to introduce the Mother and Child Scheme?
ORDINARY LEVEL 1. How did Archbishop John Charles McQuaid influence Irish affairs? (2013) 2. What was the Mother and Child Scheme and why was it controversial? 3. Write a paragraph about each of the following: • The first inter-party government • Declaring a republic in 1949
GOVERNMENT, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, 1949–1989 397
