’Miserable Conflict and Confusion’: The Irish Question and the British National Press, 1916-1922

This book investigates the way the British national press covered Ireland and the ’Irish question’ from the aftermath of the Easter Rising in 1916 to the ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922. Bridging the fields of history and media studies, it seeks to add to our understanding of the complex relationship between the press and politics.

Using a case study of 11 newspapers, Erin Kate Scheopner investigates daily press coverage from the formative 1916-22 period to offer broader contextualisation and critical analysis of what the press, the reading public, and the government recognised to be happening in Ireland. The material examined includes articles, dedicated series, editorials, cartoons, letters to the editor, and reports from outside journalists and foreign press outlets. This research confirms that the British national press were not neutral bystanders in the Irish question debate but were active participants, helping to shape and influence the course of events that led to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

Erin Kate Scheopner is an independent scholar based in Massachusetts, USA.