Book review: The Archives of the Valuation of Ireland, 1830–65

Abstract

badly received decision away. In chapters nine and ten, Australia’s engagement with Irish politics is explored, both in relation to views on Home Rule and also the experiences of Irish politicians who undertook speaking tours of Australia. Malcolm and Hall conclude the book with an epilogue on Irish Australia in the twenty-first century. They bring together many of the themes of the book by discussing Irish-Australian jokes. It seems that the same tropes and stereotypes always find their way back into public discourse. Throughout A New History of the Irish in Australia, Malcolm and Hall emphasise the work still to be done on the Irish in Australia while demonstrating how research into the Irish diaspora elsewhere can be used to make wider arguments about Ireland and transnational connections. At times, the emphasis on individual stories threatens the overall chapter arguments, making it feel like a collection of anecdotes. Where O’Farrell extrapolated the experiences of a few to the many, Malcolm and Hall go the other direction, particularly in the first section. However, this may be required to emphasise the heterogeneous nature of ‘the Irish in Australia’. Their wide sweep approach to those of Irish ancestry or birth, bringing together Catholic and Protestant, imperialists and republicans, and those living in urban centres and rural areas, emphasises the very problems which exist in talking about ‘the Irish in Australia’. This book stresses the mixed nature of the Irish diaspora and further expands our knowledge of Irish communities outside the United States and United Kingdom. It is therefore an important addition to the literature on both Ireland and Australia.