Product details
- ISBN 9781399759816
- Dimensions: 156 x 240mm
- Publication Date: 01 Oct 2026
- Publisher: Hachette Books Ireland
- Publication City/Country: IE
- Product Form: Hardback
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Housing the Nation - a History of Ireland through Our Homes is a sweeping history of Irish housing - not just as architecture or policy, but as a battleground for identity, power and belonging. Through in-depth exploration of the key milestones in 300 years of housing history, this richly illustrated book traces how land and shelter have shaped Ireland's political movements, cultural imagination and social divides.
From the Wide Streets Commission to the Mahon Tribunal, from labourers' cottages to Ballymun's high-rises, it reveals how housing reflects deeper struggles over class, nationalism and economic ideology. It explores the rise and fall of social housing, the impact of neoliberalism and financialisation, and the persistent shadow of homelessness and exclusion.
Blending archival material with social commentary and lived experience, Housing the Nation shows how homes are more than places to live - they are symbols of who we are, what we value and how we resist. Essential reading for anyone interested in Irish history, social justice, and the forces that shape the spaces we call home.
Lorcan Sirr is a well-known housing academic in Technological University Dublin. He has been writing about housing for many years, covering diverse aspects such as housing and health, gender, religion, finance, policy, politics and ideology. Lorcan is a former columnist with The Sunday Times and regularly writes for all the national newspapers in Ireland.
He has been Visiting Professor of housing in the Universities of Tarragona and Galway, and gives many talks each year in Ireland and abroad on the often thorny topic of housing.
He is a committed campervan enthusiast.
