Aiding Ireland

An important addition to famine historiography. Shrout has produced a rigorous and excellent analysis of the complex relationship between international philanthropy and the Irish famine. -- Christine Kinealy, Emmy-award winner of The Great Hunger and the Irish Diaspora In this elegant, meticulously-researched book, Anelise Shrout uncovers the ways in which international charitable responses to a nineteenth-century catastrophe in Ireland were rooted in local concerns and anxieties. Aiding Ireland is landmark work on the birth pains of global philanthropy. -- Cian T. McMahon, author of The Coffin Ship: Life and Death at Sea during the Great Irish Famine Aiding Ireland is an important contribution to the growing literature on the history of philanthropy. It not only examines a significant chapter in transnational giving, but also explores the underlying agendas that surrounded donations by groups such as slaves and Native Americans, broadening our understanding of the breadth and uses of philanthropy in the United States. -- Kathleen McCarthy, author of American Creed: Philanthropy and the Rise of Civil Society An impressive and valuable contribution to both Irish history as well as the history of international philanthropy. -- David Gleeson, Northumbria University, Newcastle In Aiding Ireland, historian Anelise Hanson Shrout addresses [the motivations behind humanitarian aid] in relation to the transnational philanthropic response to the Great Famine. Her convincing study explores why people from so many places and backgrounds donated, and reveals their underlying agendas. Without minimising the generosity of donors, she complicates prevalent and often simplistic narratives about famine-era philanthropy … a well-argued and highly welcome monograph that offers a compelling account of the political and ideological dimensions of humanitarian aid during the Famine. * The Irish Times *