These Divided Isles

Britain and Ireland, Past and Future

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.

Philips Stephens is an award-winning journalist and contributing editor at the Financial Times, where he was previously director of the Editorial Board and chief political commentator. Both British and Irish, having been brought up in London with roots in Co Mayo, his illustrious career has landed him unique access to foreign policymakers in Britain and around the world. Stephens has won the David Watt Prize for Outstanding Political Journalism and Political Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards. He is the author of Politics and the Pound, Tony Blair and Britain Alone, but These Troubled Isles is his first book to be published in America. Philip lives in England.

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Endorsements & Reviews

Praise for These Divided Isles:

“This timely book, from one of Britain's most perceptive commentators, provides an illuminating entryway into this essential history.” Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireworld and Stolen History

“One of the most astute and informed modern commentators on British politics and its foreign policy. Stephens has written a profound, authoritative and readable account of the troubled relations between Britain and Ireland.” Daithí Ó Ceallaigh, former Irish Ambassador in London

“An authoritative and insightful account of how the two countries have struggled to establish a neighborly coexistence is illuminated by the author's experience as a journalist covering Anglo-Irish relations since the 1980s.” Stephen Collins, political commentator for The Irish Times

“Masterful and beautifully written. Required reading for anyone interested in how the Troubles ended and what the final answer to the Irish question might be.” Jonathan Powell, author of Terrorists at the Table

“A most comprehensive, balanced, and hard-hitting history of the last hundred years of Anglo-Irish relations. It pulls no punches on those on all sides who were to blame for the terrible and often callous failures that led to a violent and divisive partition.” Richard Needham, former Northern Ireland Minister

“A clear sighted and dispassionate view of Anglo-Irish relations is long overdue—now Philip Stephens has provided it. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know how politicians have divided these islands.” Adam Boulton, preeminent broadcast journalist