Acknowledgements
Chari thanks the editors of Irish Political Studies, Eoin O'Malley and Richard Grayson, for their guidance and belief in this project since its inception. A significant debt of gratitude is particularly owed to Eoin for ensuring the smooth running of the review process. Advice from Michael Laver and the PSAI President, Gary Murphy, was also invaluable in the formative stage of this project. Patrick Bernhagen was instrumental in organizing the two sessions in the Political Studies Association Annual Conference in Edinburgh (March–April 2010) where several of these papers were presented previously. All authors are indebted to the two anonymous reviewers who offered excellent constructive comments and to Shelley Barry and her team at Taylor and Francis for their stellar work in the production of this issue.