The 'Irish' Family

The ‘Irish’ Family is an innovative new text, which both aims to fill a substantial gap in the market for course material on Ireland and to contribute to wider debates about ‘the family’ in the arena of family studies and research. The collection will address a range of important topics within a number of disciplines, including sociology, social policy, history, women’s studies, Irish studies and politics. It is unique in that it will be the first integrated ‘Sociology of the Family’ text in relation to Ireland.

When situated in the wider European context, ‘the Irish family’ has undergone a process of profound transformation and rapid change in very recent decades. Recent data cites a significant increase in one parent households and a high non-marital birth rate for instance alongside the emergence of cohabitation, divorce, same sex families and reconstituted families. At the same time, the majority of children in Ireland still live in a two-parent family based on marriage and the divorce rate in Ireland is comparatively lower than other European countries. 21st century family life is, in reality, characterised by continuity and change in the Irish context.

This book seeks to understand, interpret and theorise family life in Ireland by providing a detailed analysis of historical change, demographic trends, fertility and reproduction, marriage, separation and divorce, sexualities, children and young people, class, gender, motherhood, intergenerational relations, grandparents, ethnicity, globalisation, technology and family practices. A comprehensive analysis of key developments and trends over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is provided.