Who are the Irish? What is Irishness, and can this deeply divided island ever be united?
Malachi O’Doherty’s ground-breaking new book – his most ambitious to date – explores these questions and many more. Spanning centuries of history alongside contemporary issues, Malachi looks for answers by talking to those who know and understand it best: the Irish themselves. From journalists to politicians, writers, lawyers, celebrities, sportspeople and residents of both the North and the Republic, this is the most comprehensive study yet of a divided nation and its uncertain future.

This book asks the big political questions about the prospects of reconciliation between North and South, but it also goes behind the upfront attitudes of parties and factions to ask what really drives a sense of being Irish, and whether it can find a more coherent and inclusive sense of identity.

Ireland has changed radically in a generation. Today both parts of the island define themselves by or against the narrative of a freedom struggle. Could they conceivably put that behind them, regard it as closed, and if so, how would they jointly define Ireland’s sovereign national character after that? In Can Ireland Be One, Malachi O’Doherty asks the big questions and confronts the real-world implications of this incendiary debate.