The assumption that Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics are fundamentally different is central to modern Irish history. There are hundreds of books and thousands of articles that either presuppose the existence of Irish Catholic-Protestant differences

Donald Harman Akenson, Professor of History at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, is one of the -world's leading authorities on Irish history. He received his bachelor's degree from Yale and his Ph.D from Harvard. The author of twenty books, including five novels, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society (Canada) and of the Royal Historical Society (U.K.). He has held both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a writing fellowship at Villa Serbelloni, Bellagio, Como. In 1993 he received the prestigious Grawmeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order, for his book God's People: Covenant and Land in South Africa, Israel and Ulster (1992). In 1996 he was named Molson Prize Laureate; this is Canada's highest cultural award.

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"A bold and imaginative analysis of common assumptions about Protestant and Catholic cultural differences in nineteenth-century Ireland ... Besides being a model of quantitative history, this work is a noteworthy warning against the intrusion of the cultural stereotyping verging on racism that distorts much Irish history." J.W. Auld, Choice. "intriguing and challenging ... quite fascinating ... It does indeed seem likely that the conventional wisdom on the Irish abroad will have to be revised ... in order to accommodate this new information." Julie Rogers, Irish Literary Supplement. "a finely crafted text which takes what could be overly complex ideas and reduces them to a logical and understandable level ... It is in the nature of the conclusions presented that this book shines ... [it] is sure to excite controversy." Gerald J. Stortz, Canadian Historical Review. "a book of compelling logic, methodological clarity and felicitous style. There is more hard-headed analysis here than we are accustomed to seeing in historians in Canada." J.E. Rea, Histoire Sociale/Social History. "should prove to be an impetus for additional reflection and reassessment of long held beliefs regarding Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics." Denis Pahl, International Migration Review. "a persuasive study." Hugh McKellar, Toronto Star. "exact and rigorous ... a singular achievement, historically exciting, and socially valuable ... a marvellous example of what can be achieved by using the wide canvas, the broad view ... a seminal book." Patrick O'Farrell, International History Review. Choice 1989 Outstanding Academic Book.