Eight decades after it came into force, the Irish Constitution (Bunreacht na hEireann 1937) is coming under increasing scrutiny. It was reviewed piecemeal by a Constitutional Convention of citizens and politicians, which had an agenda that avoids dealing with or raising radical proposals, and many argued that it did not tackle the core problems of hte Irish State. In this powerful book, trenchantly introduced by editor Theo Dorgan, eight leading experts argue for the fundamental changes they believe are necessary if we are to make Ireland a real republic, if we are to open the structures of the State to its citizens and improve their lives. Delivered at the 2012 Douglas Hyde Conference, these essays, taken together, add up to a powerful argument for radical reform; in effect, they lay out the foundations for a constitution appropriate to Ireland as a 21st-century Republic.