Ireland's Czar: Gladstonian Government and the Lord Lieutenancies of the Red Earl Spencer, 1868-86 - Tapa dura

'James Murphy has performed historians a great service by shedding light on one of Ireland's less well-known viceroys in his latest book ... This work adds to the recent trend among historians of nineteenth-century Ireland to investigate Dublin castle administration in more detail.'Journal of Liberal History, Summer 2016 'This substantial and authoritative book argues that the "bifurcated government" of Ireland from Westminster and Dublin Castle allowed all the odium of coercion to fall on Spencer.' October 2014, Donal McCartney, The Irish Times 'Spencer's approach to Ireland mirrored that of his political mentor, Gladstone. He believed in firm government - coercion as deemed necessary to preserve law and order - but accompanied by real reform in the areas of land, education, religion and infrastructure.' September 2014 Felix M Larkin, The Irish Catholic

The fifth Earl Spencer was lord lieutenant of Ireland twice (1868-71, 1882-5). It was a problematic office, combing both symbolic, constitutional aspects with an administrative role that could embroil it in politics. On the first occasion Spencer managed to save the office from political controversy. On the second, during the politically turbulent 1880s, he was given an explicit mandate to act as a governing lord lieutenant. This effectively produced the appearance of a bifurcated government with the Liberal government at Westminster able psychologically to distance itself from the Irish Executive under Spencer. Equally, the Irish Parliamentary Party, effected a bifurcated opposition. This work continues the argument of the author's 2001 book, Abject Loyalty: Nationalism and Monarch in Ireland during the Reign of Queen Victoria, that in nineteenth-century Ireland, political affinity with Britain was damaged by the sacrifice for short-term political ends of constitutional offices (such as the monarchy and lord lieutenancy) that were important for bolstering that affinity.This ground-breaking study, exploring the career intricacies of lord lieutenant Earl Spencer, sheds new light on an area of Irish History, as of yet, largely unexplored.