One often finds analyses of the family and the state in historical and social scientific research but it is less common to see civil society included in the picture. This chapter explores what the addition of a civil society focus might bring to traditional analyses of the family–state relationship in Ireland and on that basis seeks to draw some conclusions about the value of the civil society concept as a tool for the examination of social and institutional change both in Ireland and in modern societies generally. Within the space available, it is not possible to deal with these issues comprehensively, even for Ireland. The approach adopted, rather, is to select two contrasting cases of civil society institutions in Ireland and examine them as illustrative instances of the different ways that civil society can play a role in the family–state relationship.

The first instance selected is the Catholic church, an obvious choice when it comes to questions of influence on either the family or the state in Ireland, but perhaps questionable as an example of a civil society institution. Scholars disagree on whether churches, especially those that play a hegemonic role in their societies, should be considered part of civil society. Certainly, the Catholic church in its heyday in Ireland might be thought to have been too dominant and too resistant to active participation by the laity for it to be classed as a civil society institution.