'A terrible danger to the morals of the country': The Irish hospitals' sweepstake in Great Britain, 1930-87

This paper examines the importance of British contributions to the success of the Irish hospitals sweepstake. In its early years, up to three-quarters of these tickets were sold in Britain, bringing millions of pounds into Ireland annually to improve and expand the state's hospitals. The vast amount of money leaving Britain in this way angered the British government and forced it to introduce new legislation to curtail the activities of the Irish sweep. The paper will highlight the extent to which the success of the sweepstake depended on the market for tickets in Britain; the threat to the sweep's survival posed by the restriction of its activities in Britain after 1935; the role of the sweepstake controversy in exacerbating further already strained relations between Britain and the Irish Free State in the 1930s; how the success of the sweep raised the issue of legalising a British lottery; and the eventual decline of the sweepstake as a force in British gambling in the post-war years.

Devolving Housing Policy and Practice in Northern Ireland 1998 - 2002

This paper reviews the effect of devolution on housing policy and practice in Northern Ireland. It outlines the history and context of devolution and housing policy in Northern Ireland, including the legacy and persistence of intense social conflict. Current devolution arrangements are reviewed, including the implications of enforced coalition for policy governance. The paper focuses on three dimensions of housing and housing-related policy development and implementation: social housing, especially the distinctive history and changing organisation of social housing provision; policies affecting the housing market, including the changing regime for spatial planning; and, regeneration and tenant participation. The paper argues that housing policy has tended to converge with policies in England, rather than moving towards a distinctively local agenda. Local political agendas remain dominated by disagreements over constitutional status, thus policy formulation is determined more by officials than by elected politicians.

Female reproductive biology of two sympatric incirrate octopod species, Adelieledone polymorpha (Robson 1930) and Pareledone turqueti (Joubin 1905) (Cephalopoda : Octopodidae), from South Georgia

The reproductive biology of two species of endemic Southern Ocean octopods was investigated around the sub-Antarctic islands of South Georgia and Shag Rocks. The females of both the species produce few, large eggs. This appears to be governed by phylogenetic constraint. No evidence was found for ontogenetic migration or seasonality associated with gonad maturation. Based on oocyte length frequency distributions and observations of oocyte development within the ovary, it is possible that both species could have either a single or multiple-batch spawning strategy. Pareledone turqueti ovaries contained fewer larger oocytes than those of Adefieledone polymorpha, which may help to reduce competition for resources immediately after hatching.