This was the first comprehensive study of film production in Ireland from the silent period to the present day, and of representations of Ireland and 'Irishness' in native, British, and American films. It remains an authority on the topic. The book focuses on Irish history and politics to examine the context and significance of such films as Irish Destiny, The Quiet Man, Ryan's Daughter, Man of Aran, Cal, The Courier, and The Dead.
Cinema and Ireland 'remains the Bible of Irish film studies, the first port of call for students both here and overseas who want an overview of the issues surrounding Irish film.' (Hugh Linehan, Irish Times, 1996)
'Pioneering work'. (Stephanie McBride, Dublin City University, Irish Times, 2000)
The 'definitive study of Irish cinema'. (Dr Ruth Barton, Trinity College Dublin,2002)
'The foundational work of Irish film criticism'. (Dr Joe Cleary, NUI-Maynooth, Irish Times, 19 September 2009)
'The potential repercussions of thinking seriously about the Irish and cinema [is] a task which Kevin Rockett, Luke Gibbons and John Hill have amply fulfilled in their new book. Previous writing on the subject fills barely half a page of bibliography, so inevitably an important element of Cinema and Ireland consists of essential historical documentation ... Cinema and Ireland is more than an academic study; it is a manifesto which, at a stroke, establishes the validity of Irish film studies and proclaims the continuing importance of cinema to modern Irish consciousness. Its achievement cannot be overestimated.' (Professor Gillian Russell, Australian National University, The Irish Review, 1988)
'If the nadir of 1987 for the Irish film community was the abolition of the Irish Film Board by Mr Haughey's government, its highpoint must be the publication of this comprehensive history of the cinema in Ireland? The first and longest part by Kevin Rockett, the current chairman of the Irish Film Institute, is an exhaustive and critical history of film production and exhibition in Ireland ? This book should and will find a place on the shelves of every public and institutional library in the country.' (Donal Fitzsimons, University College Dublin, Irish University Review, 1988)
