This superbly incisive, comprehensive history of the Irish women"s movement from the 1860s to today, now in paperback, shows how a network of constituent organizations and individuals was transformed into an engine of social change. While feminism is a major intellectual and political tradition in Ireland, it has been misrepresented and misunderstood in mainstream Irish studies. This survey of key historical and contemporary perspectives demonstrates how the women"s movement fundamentally challenged established interpretations of the way in which modern Irish society has evolved over time, creating new theoretical directions in Irish studies. "A well-written and very readable book. It not only has an excellent bibliography but contains many informative appendices. These will be of enormous use to students and researchers alike."--Women"s Studies International Forum. "An important contribution to the history of the period ... has a lot to say that is of value to the broader debates about Irish society in the past and in the future."--History Ireland.