Nick Maxwell The Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen is the first of its kind in the world. It is a unique interdisciplinary centre of excellence that offers taught masters and doctoral programmes in history, language, literature and culture of Ireland and Scotland and carries out research across these disciplines. Founded … Read more
The commemoration of those Irishmen who died in the British forces during World War I is still a contentious issue in southern Ireland. For many, the manner in which the dead are honoured, and the wearing of symbols like the poppy carry deep political significance. During the 1920s and 1930s the issue was even more … Read more
Addressing the Dáil on 27 October 1919, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Count George Plunkett, reported ‘a steady progress’ in the development of Ireland’s foreign relations ‘in spite of all impediments’. These impediments were many and they hampered all Dáil Éireann agents abroad. On his first visit to the United States as the President of … Read more
Though he was one of the towering figures of eighteenth-century Irish Patriotism, Henry Flood is little remembered today. Unlike Henry Grattan, with whom he is frequently twinned in historical memory, popular valorisation was not to be his destiny. Thus, there are no statues in his honour; no pubs which bear his name and, most significantly, … Read more
PC Your father taught history at Queen’s. Did this influence your own enthusiasm for history? JG The endless discussions at home about modern history and politics were much more influential. I discovered that my father was in a state of almost permanent opposition to the condition of the world, although little was said of Ireland … Read more