Catholic Church and Catholic Schools in Northern Ireland

Description This story is a testament to the determination of the Catholic authorities, for a long time clerical, now lay, to maintain independence. In doing so they have ensured that their educational monopoly, won in the nineteenth century, has lasted to the twenty-first. McGrath’s fair and balanced account raises interesting issues for the Catholic education sector such as the purpose of segregation in a post-conflict secular society when unionist, Orange Order and Protestant-clerical influences are at their lowest. “McGrath’s book is a well-written and concise account that will prove useful to students of social history and those requiring a background for further in-depth study. He provides useful charts and graphs though not always entirely covering the period studied.” – Neil Fleming, History Ireland.