Saving the State: Fine Gael from Collins to Varadkar

By Stephen Collins and Ciara Meehan

When Fine Gael entered a coalition government with Fianna Fáil in 2020 the party did what would have been unthinkable for its forefathers, who had fought and won a bitter civil war to establish the institutions of an independent Irish state almost a century earlier. Saving the State is the remarkable story of Fine Gael from its origins in the fraught days of civil war to the political convulsions of 2020.

Written by political journalist Stephen Collins and historian Ciara Meehan, Saving the State draws on a wealth of original historical research and a range of interviews with key political figures to chart the evolution of the party through the lens of its successive leaders.

From the special place occupied by Michael Collins in the party’s pantheon of heroes to the dark era of the Blueshirts, and from its role as the founder of the state to its claim to be the defender of the state, the ways that members perceive their own history is also explored.

Saving the State is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding how Fine Gael came to be the party it is today, the ways in which it interprets and presents its own history, and the role that it played in shaping modern Ireland.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gill Books
• Release date: Oct 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9780717189748

Stephen Collins

Since his big-screen debut in All the President’s Men, Stephen Collins has starred in more than twenty feature films, including The First Wives Club, as well as miniseries such as Scarlett and A Woman Named Jackie. He currently stars in Aaron Spelling’s critically acclaimed drama 7th Heaven. His books, Eye Contact and Double Exposure, are available from Brilliance Audio.