TU Dublin Academic Explores Ireland’s Housing History in New Book
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TU Dublin Academic Explores Ireland’s Housing History in New Book
Lorcan Sirr’s new book, Housing a Nation: Seven Generations of Irish Land, Politics and Power, explores how Ireland’s housing story has shaped the country’s politics, society and identity.
Housing policy analyst and TU Dublin senior lecturer Lorcan Sirr examines seven generations of one Irish family to tell a wider story of land, housing and power in Ireland.
Published by Hachette Books Ireland on 29 September 2026, Housing a Nation traces the experience of Irish housing from a nineteenth-century labourers’ cottage to the contemporary struggle to get a foothold on the property ladder.
Drawing on archival material and social commentary, the book explores pivotal moments including the Land League, the era of the Big House, the development of Ballymun’s high-rises and the Celtic Tiger property boom. It considers how successive generations have been shaped by changing housing policies and how housing reflects wider struggles around class, nationalism, ideology and belonging.
Lorcan’s work exemplifies TU Dublin’s commitment to research that engages with significant societal challenges and contributes to public debate. A regular contributor to The Irish Times and former columnist with The Sunday Times, Sirr is a frequent speaker on housing policy and currently serves on the board of Threshold.
With Ireland continuing to grapple with housing affordability and supply, Housing a Nation offers a timely perspective on the historical forces that have shaped the country’s housing system — and the choices that may shape its future.
Housing a Nation: Seven Generations of Irish Land, Politics and Power is published by Hachette Books Ireland on 29 September 2026 and available to pre-order from a range of bookshops.