The fall and rise of homicide in ireland

Abstract

During the 1990s the level of recorded homicide rose sharply in the Republic of Ireland. This trend can be related to factors such as a booming economy, changing migration patterns and increases in alcohol consumption (O'Donnell, 2005a). Considered historically the rate of lethal violence was at a peak during the mid nineteenth century, remained relatively high until the beginning of the twentieth century and then declined until the 1970s (O'Donnell, 2005b). To illustrate these shifts this chapter concentrates on four time periods, each separated by half a century (1845 to 1854; 1895 to 1904; 1945 to 1954; and 1995 to 2004). © 2009 Springer-Verlag New York.