These Divided Isles: Britain and Ireland, Past and Future

by Philip Stephens

Evoking the tumultuous history of the relationship between Britain and Ireland, These Divided Isles investigates the complexities of culture and colonization to ask what the future holds for both countries.

Ireland is Britain's closest neighbor—the sea crossing from Scotland measures only twelve miles. Ireland was also its first conquered territory in what became Britain's empire. The two nation's stories have been intertwined since Anglo-Norman invaders crossed the Irish Sea during the twelfth century.

These Divided Isles tells the extraordinary history of the past century in this tumultuous relationship, from the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1922 to the present day. This is a tale of deep division between Catholic nationalism and Protestant unionism, of wars and terrorist violence, and of occasional moments of great courage on the part of British and Irish leaders.

Today, the post-Brexit weakening of the UK's constitutional ties has coincided with the march of demography in Northern Ireland as the Protestant unionist majority continues to shrink. Sinn Féin's historic string of electoral victories in Northern Ireland since 2022 has once more resurfaced the unfinished business of partition. Here, Philip Stephens explores how Ireland might escape its troubled past by deploying history to inform the future rather than hold it in place.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2025

Reviews

[Deryck Fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book about Anglo Irish relations over the past 120 years or so. It is thoroughly researched and well written, with an elegant turn of phrase. While he explains all the various sides in the bitter and sometimes violent history of these isles, the author is not afraid to express his opinion: unsurprisingly, Boris Johnston does not emerge as a hero.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

“To escape the past you must stop living in it.” This was an excellent analysis of Anglo-Irish relations, past, present, and future. Stephens touches on the history of colonization and the Plantation of Ireland, provides a deeper analysis of the 1916 Easter Rising and subsequent events, the progression through the 20th century leading to the Troubles, and then ends with the modern era, Brexit, and the political future of the island’s people. A measured approach, providing the perspective of unionists, nationalist, the Irish and British.
Readers may need to have a basic understanding of the history of Ireland and the politics of the British Isles.

[Killian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read about the history of partition in Ireland, and where do we go from here

[Chris Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written history of England and Ireland’s relationship. As neutral and informative as it gets. To be expected from the FT’s political editor…