Preface by Paul Foot, award-winning journalist and author of Red Shelley Shelley's writings on Ireland have long been dismissed by the establishment as juvenile speculation. However, O'Brien shows that Shelley's involvement in the fight for Catholic emancipation and repeal of the Union in Ireland was central to his political and artistic development, as well as providing an inspiration for generations of Irish writers. Compelling and authoritative, this is the first study to gather together Shelley's writings on Ireland.