History of the Present of Child Protection and Welfare Social Work in Ireland - Irish Studies

This book is the first detailed history of child protection and welfare social work practice in the Republic of Ireland, providing a comprehensive and in-depth account of the development of social work within the child protection and welfare system in the Republic of Ireland. Drawing on a broad range of archival sources, the book illuminates the complex and often contradictory nature of child welfare practices over the period 1862-1991. The archival data provided in the book should provide an excellent starting point for persons interested in furthering the study of the nature of child welfare and/or social work in the Republic of Ireland. The book applies a methodology of a history of the present in a rigorous manner, drawing from Foucault's conceptualizations of archaeology, genealogy, and discourse. The book attempts to deconstruct and reconstruct the theorization of social work in 'the social' (Foucault, 1977; Donzelot, 1980, Parton, 1991) within the context of Irish social work. It is likely that both the methodological and theoretical aspects of this book, applied in such a grounded way, will be of great interest to a broad audience of social scientists and historians.