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Special advisers are temporary civil servants, of party political alignment, appointed on a basis of individual ministerial patronage. Particularly since 1997, there has been much interest in their activities. This work sets out to provide a historical perspective on the subject, which is currently lacking. The long-term background to the instigation of the special adviser and the circumstances in which this innovation took place will be discussed. The central focus of this work is upon the period 1964-70, during which, it will be argued, special advisers, as they are now conceived, were first used. Full consideration is given to the subjects of who special advisers were, what they did and why, as well as how they functioned. Their official positions, in terms of matters such as job titles, pay, access to information and rules governing their conduct, will be investigated. Also of importance will be an understanding of their relations with each other, career civil servants and ministers. All of these themes will be extrapolated beyond the period in which special advisers were first used, through to the present day. Most importantly, an explanation of the collective significance of special advisers will be attempted. A core thesis, that they are best understood in terms of their relations with their employing ministers, will be proposed, along with a number of possible alternative interpretations. Primary material, including memoirs, diaries, personal and institutional papers, Public Record Office files and interviews, will form the most important basis for this work. Much of this will be examined for the first time in the context of the special adviser. Secondary sources will also be drawn upon. It is concluded that special advisers were a complex phenomenon and no single interpretation fits them entirely. Nevertheless, the relationship with the employing minister was, at times, extremely important.

This thesis examines provision for the poor in County Armagh in the period from the introduction of the Poor Law to the end of the Famine. It begins by analysing the local reaction to the new measure and its impact on existing charities. It then moves on to the enactment of the law through its most conspicuous elements-the workhouses in Armagh and Newry. These establishments were not long developed when they had to cope with the disaster of the famine and an in-depth analysis of their role throughout this period is offered. In conjunction with such official relief efforts were those of private agencies such as the Society of Friends and the Irish Relief Association. To date, these sources have been little used in famine historiography but their worth is highlighted in this work particularly in evaluating government measures such as the Temporary Relief Act (1847). The latter part of the study examines the consequences of the famine years and their impact on the county. By looking at mortality rates, depopulation, emigration and crime levels the conclusion is offered that there were a series of famine experiences in the county. It emerges as no surprise that those in the industrialised north-east escaped relatively lightly while there was much suffering in the south. However, the main finding is that the most distressed districts were those in the middle and west of the county, areas which had previously been buoyant due to the linen industry but by the mid-1840s had started to suffer the effects of de-industrialisation and the concentration of manufacturing in the north-east.

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This thesis has been an attempt to isolate the contribution that was made to the fascist movements of Sir Oswald Mosley by Alexander Raven Thomson. Despite featuring in most studies of Mosley's fascist enterprises, until this study little was known of his life and thus the proper context for his work had been lost. In this attempt to analyse Raven Thomson a chronological structure has been adopted. Special attention has, however, been placed on his developing thought in response to Oswald Spengler's prognosis for the future of Europe, before and after his acceptance of fascism in both its inter-war and post-war incarnations. This has enabled new insights into his Corporate State ideas within fascism and the anti-Semitic campaign within which he was an active participant, both of which had been the source of previous academic interest. Unlike other studies in this field which present the reader with either an examination of Mosley fascism to 1940 or British fascists after the war, this study bridges this artificial gap and thus seeks to illustrate the continuity of fascism in Britain. This longer period of study allows for wartime internment and Raven Thomson's part in the revival of fascism to be fully discussed. The result is a biography that attempts to place the subject within its proper context.