On Every Tide explores both an Irish story and a chapter in world history. Irish emigrants fled a society blighted by poverty and lack of opportunity, seeking new lives in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere.

In doing so they became part of a massive population movement that has shaped the modern world. What distinguishes the Irish from tens of millions of other European immigrants is the position they established in their new homes. Initially treated as a despised and exploited underclass, they created a commanding position, in politics, in the labour movement, and, by the twentieth century, as cultural icons.

Drawing on the latest ground-breaking research, and Sean Connolly's career-long engagement with the complexities of Irish identity, On Every Tide addresses wider, contemporary debates about migration, as well as offering a unique and distinctive view of two hundred years of Irish history.