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The history of crime in modern Ireland provides a history of contrasting stories. At times, the country has had a strong reputation for high levels of violence and disorder. This can be seen in outbreaks of agrarian unrest in the early 1800s and again in the 1880s, as well as in periods of profound political conflict, such as the early 1920s and the conflict in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s. At other times, Ireland has been characterized as a 'policeman's paradise', with low levels of crime and disorder.

Throughout the book a number of key questions will be addressed. These include: what forms did criminal activity take? What was the extent and nature of that activity? Who was involved in it? How was such activity dealt with? How did this change over time? How did the incidence and prosecution of crime in one area compare to that in another? There will also be a wider reflection upon the broader political, social and cultural forces and relationships which shaped the meaning of criminal activity and reactions to it, by asking questions about how crime was understood by the mass of the people and those in positions of authority.