The 'irish' Family

When situated in the wider European context, ‘the Irish family’ as we have known it has undergone a process of profound transformation and rapid change in very recent decades. In particular, a variety of family forms and new trends have emerged and family life has changed, more generally, in the midst of the rise and decline of ‘the Celtic Tiger’ phenomenon. Recent census data cites a rapid increase in one parent households and a high non-marital birth rate for instance alongside the emergence of cohabitation, divorce and reconstituted families. This book will focus on the changing nature of family/personal life. The text will seek to understand, interpret and theorise social change in a range of arenas including, historical change, demographic change, trends in fertility, emotions, sexualities, children and young people, motherhood, intergenerational relations, globalisation, technology and family practices.

Linda Connolly is the Director of the Institute for Social Science in the 21^st Century and a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at UCC. Her research interests and publications are in the arenas of Irish society, Irish Studies, feminist theory, family, gender, migration and social movements, and she has collaborated on a number of research projects in these fields, nationally and internationally. Her previous books include The Irish Women’s Movement: From Revolution to Devolution (Macmillan Palgrave, 2003; Lilliput, 2003; Documenting Irish Feminisms (Woodfield Press, 2005); and she is co-editor of Social Movements and Ireland (Manchester University Press, 2006). She has also served as the Managing Editor of the Irish Journal of Sociology (2008-2014), published by Manchester University Press. Her next monograph (forthcoming) will focus on the relationship between Irish studies and the social sciences.