On the frontiers of European history

Academics these days are encouraged to venture outside their limited ‘knowledge community’ (‘the ivory tower’) and engage more with the general public, presenting research findings to wider audiences, increasing participation and promoting ‘lifelong learning’. They must also attract outside funding for their universities to finance networks of the type discussed here, but funding is increasingly … Read more

Museum Eye

Number Twenty-Nine: Dublin’s Georgian House Museum 29 Fitzwilliam Street Lower, Dublin 2 +353 (0)1 702 6165, numbertwentynine@esb.ie, www.esb.ie/no29 Tues.–Sat. 10am–5pm, Sun. 1pm–5pm, €5/€2.50, u16 free. Closed Mondays and two weeks at Christmas by Tony Canavan Number Twenty-Nine is situated in a historic area of Dublin that not only reflects the Georgian glory of the past … Read more

Need to rebalance state and society

The current crisis in Ireland can be compared to ‘the crisis of liberalism’ experienced in the United Kingdom before 1914. One aspect of it was the feeling that the Westminster model had ceased to provide democratic representation under industrial conditions. It was in this period that Labour first considered issues such as proportional representation, but … Read more