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This book provides a short introduction to the emergence and development of sociology in Ireland until the present day. While there were some early nineteenth century forerunners, the institutionalization of sociology as an academic discipline came relatively late. For a long time the development of sociology was strongly influenced by the Catholic Church, and Catholic sociology remained the dominant paradigm until a slow secularization process phased this out. From the 1970s onwards the discipline witnessed periods of growth and professionalization. However, these development and achievements were never conflict-free and by the mid 1980s, sociology in Ireland entered a period of critical self-reflection in which old established paradigms were questioned and new themes and topics emerged.
