It is a  timely collection of essays which examines the role of Irish documentary in film and television as Ireland experienced dramatic shifts in its social and political make-up in recent decades. Bringing together a diverse range of perspectives, this book tells it from the standpoint of the documentary-maker, the academic and the policy-maker. It reveals the role of documentary in telling stories that challenge the hierarchies of church and state, at the same time reflecting and representing the change brought about as a result in shifts to the political and social landscape.

Documentary in a Changing State: Ireland since the 1990s includes a transcript of an interview with the late Mary Raftery. This book looks back over the last two decades through the prism of documentary to get a snap shot of the dramatic shifts and upheavals in Irish society, socially, culturally and politically.

This book gives a fascinating insight into the working life of documentary makers - it captures the passion that drives them, the commitment they make to their craft, and the issues they tackle in defining what constitutes documentary – indeed, what constitutes good documentary.  This book will be read avidly not just by those in the business of creating and producing documentary but by a wide public who have learnt so much about their own society and culture through cutting-edge documentaries, Miriam O’Callaghan, RTÉ Broadcaster.

ISBN 978-185918-491-2, €39, £35, Hardback, 234 x 156mm, 194pp : www.corkuniversitypress.com

Carol MacKeogh and Díóg O'Connell  work in the Department of Humanities, Art Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland.  

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