Political Studies Association of Ireland (PSAI)

The PSAI was founded in 1982 and put on an institutional basis in 1984 as the professional organisation of the study of politics in and of Ireland. There were three stages in its foundation.

First, an 'Inter-University Political Science Seminar', initially involving mainly TCD and UCD, was instigated in 1975 by Tom Garvin (UCD) and first announced in the newsletter of the British PSA.

Second, growing informal links between political scientists in various universities across the island – facilitated by common membership, and attendance at the annual workshops, of the European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR) – led to a mini-conference held in Trinity College Dublin and the formation of the PSAI on 19 March 1982 (an early use of 'in Ireland' in the association's title soon became 'of Ireland'). This was followed by a day-long conference, also in Trinity College, in May 1983.

Third, at a 3-day conference in Galway in October 1984 a PSAI constitution was adopted. This constitution, the draft of which was drawn up by John Coakley with some minor amendments made at the 1984 AGM, was replaced by a new one in 2006.

See relevant documents here.

The prime mover in the formation of the PSAI was Tom Garvin (UCD), with significant input also from Paul Arthur (UU Jordanstown), John Coakley (UL), Vince Geoghegan (QUB) and, after his arrival in Galway in 1983, Michael Laver (NUIG). Other active participants around this time included Brian Farrell (UCD), Michael Gallagher (TCD), Brian Girvin (UCC), Brigid Laffan (UL), Michael Marsh (TCD), Jennifer Todd (UCD) and John Whyte (QUB).

The PSAI started publication of Irish Political Studies as a yearbook in 1986. The journal's editors had to produce what was then known as camera-ready copy for the printers (ie undertake all typesetting and page layout duties) as well as carrying out the regular roles of journal editors. As from 2002, when it moved to Frank Cass (subsequently part of Taylor and Francis), it has had a more conventional journal format, and now has three issues a year plus a data section.

The PSAI holds an annual conference, usually over the course of a weekend in October, sends all its members a regular electronic newsletter, and is responsible for the journal Irish Political Studies. Its first weekend conference was in 1984; conference have taken place in 14 of Ireland's 32 counties (Antrim, Cork, Derry / Londonderry, Down, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Louth, Sligo, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow) as well as Liverpool. Details:

Prior to these weekend conferences, mini-conferences were held in Trinity College Dublin: one on 19 and 20 March 1982 and a second on 13 May 1983.

***** THERE IS NOW AN OFFICIAL PSAI WEB SITE *****

In 1991 the PSAI agreed on a set of guidelines concerning the issue of confidentiality in political science research, downloadable HERE.

It has also published or co-published a number of books under the PSAI Press imprint. These include

• Irish Elections 1948–77: results and analysis (co-published with Routledge, 2009) ISBN 978-0-415-54830-4; since 2019 also available in paperback (ISBN 978-1-13897334-3) and as an eBook (ISBN 978-0-20387541-4)
• Days of Blue Loyalty: the politics of membership of the Fine Gael party (2002) ISBN 0-9519748-6-6
• How Ireland Voted 1992 (co-published with Folens, 1993) ISBN 0-86121-408-0
• Irish Elections 1922–44: results and analysis (1993) ISBN 0-9519748-1-5; since February 2023 this book has been free to download
• How Ireland Voted 1989 (1990) ISBN 0-9515731-0-1
• the first six editions of Politics in the Republic of Ireland (now superseded by PRI7)

For information on ordering Politics in the Republic of Ireland go to your bookseller or to the relevant Routledge site.

 

How to order PSAI Press books

The first book in the list above is available through bookshops. It may be possible to order other PSAI Press books through shops too.

 

 

 

The inaugural Basil Chubb prize established by the PSAI for the best politics thesis produced in an Irish university in 2005 was awarded in October 2006 to Dr Eoin O'Malley for his TCD thesis 'Give them awkward choices: a theoretical and empirical investigation into the operation of prime ministerial influence on policy in 22 countries'. The 2008 prize, for the best thesis submitted in an Irish university in 2007, was awarded in October 2008 to Dr Brighid Brooks Kelly for her TCD thesis 'An exploration of the relationship between consociationalism and stability in plural societies throughout the world', upon which her 2019 Palgrave Macmillan book was based. The prize was named after the late Professor Basil Chubb, the first holder of the chair of Political Science at Trinity College Dublin (read more about the department's history) and in many ways the founder of the discipline of political science in Ireland. He wrote the first systematic and comprehensive study of Irish politics, The Government and Politics of Ireland (first edition 1970), on which Politics in the Republic of Ireland builds.

 

Past presidents of the PSAI:

• Tom Garvin (UCD) 1984–87
• Michael Laver (NUIG) 1987–88
• Cornelius O'Leary (QUB) 1988–90
• John Coakley (UL) 1990–92
• Vincent Geoghegan (QUB) 1992–94
• Michael Gallagher (TCD) 1994–96
• Richard Jay (QUB) 1996–98
• Nicholas Rees (UL) 1998–99
• Yvonne Galligan (UCC and QUB) 1999–2002
• Maura Adshead (UL) 2002–05
• Conor McGrath (UU and IS) 2005–07
• Neil Collins (UCC) 2007–09
• Gary Murphy (DCU) 2009–12
• David Farrell (UCD) 2012–16
• Muiris MacCarthaigh (QUB) 2016–19
• Peter Stone (TCD) 2019–22
• Jennifer Kavanagh (SETU) 2022–

 

 

Membership is open to members of the staff of third-level institutions and other appropriate bodies, to postgraduate students of politics, and to other persons approved by the executive committee or by agents authorised to act on its behalf. Information on how to join the PSAI can be found here.

Back to Political Science home

Last updated 24 January, 2024 2:03 PM