The results of the first ever in-depth examination of the voluntary sector in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were unveiled today in Dublin.

The 380-page book, Two Paths, One Purpose – Voluntary Action in Ireland, North and South, was compiled by a team of academics led by the Centre for Voluntary Action Studies at the University of Ulster. The Centre has gained an international reputation for its cutting edge research in the voluntary sector.

Their ground-breaking research charts the extent and scope of voluntary and community organisations in both parts of the island and how they developed between 1922 and 2000.

The book was launched at the headquarters of the Royal Irish Academy, the prestigious academy for sciences and humanities in the whole of Ireland. Current members include the last two Presidents of Ireland, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese and Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney as well as a host of academic luminaries. The research was funded by the RIA.

Dr Arthur Williamson, one of the book’s authors and Director of the Centre for Voluntary Action Studies, said: “There has never been a comprehensive examination of the voluntary and community sectors in the whole of Ireland and this book, for the first time, provides a single and relatively accessible source for practitioners, policy makers and researchers.

“A particular focus of the book is the manner and extent to which voluntary and community action and organisations in the two parts of the island are embedded within the political, economic and social structures.”

Dr Williamson said the voluntary and community sectors in the two parts of the island had developed separately, often emphasising the differences in the two jurisdictions but in recent times there has been more convergence.

“In Ireland the voluntary and community sectors will continue to fulfill the two broad functions of delivering welfare services and enhancing social cohesion. The ways in which they will discharge these function will continue to be shaped by the differing traditions in social administration North and South”, he added.

The book details the growth of the sectors; compares and contrasts government policies on both sides of the border; compares the key features of the sectors and lists examples of good practice in both jurisdiction which may be of value to the other; and discusses what lessons can be learned by each jurisdiction to help the voluntary and community sectors meet the challenges facing them.

The keynote speaker at the book launch was Professor David Donnison from the University of Glasgow, an eminent figure in the field of social policy and administration in the UK.

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young