Irish Studies in Britain

27 May 2014

I have had the pleasure in recent months of visiting a number of British Universities where Irish Studies feature on the curriculum.

This week I am hosting the British Association of Irish Studies (BAIS) at the Embassy. This is a national network for all those in Britain with an active interest in the study of Ireland and the development of Irish Studies.

I have been to the Irish History Seminar at Cambridge University where I addressed staff and students who meet regularly under the guidance of Professor Eugenio Biagini of Sidney Sussex College to explore aspects of Irish history. I am also in regular contact with Professor Roy Foster, holder of the Carroll Chair of Irish History at Oxford University, one of the leading Irish historians of his generation.

In addition, I have had considerable contact with St. Mary’s University in Twickenham where there is a very active Centre for Irish Studies directed by Professor Lance Pettitt. Some months ago, I delivered a talk at the University on ‘Sean O’Casey and the drama of history,’ reflecting on the work of our greatest 20th century playwright whose three great Dublin plays deal with key events in Ireland’s history between 1916 and 1922.

In recent months, the Embassy has hosted the Institute for Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool, who will soon be teaching Irish Studies at the University’s new London Campus. I subsequently visited the Institute’s headquarters in Liverpool and was honoured to open a new research library there which is dedicated to the memory of the founder and long-time editor of The Irish Post, Brendan MacLua, who was a legendary figure in Irish journalism in Britain. While in Liverpool, I was happy to be able to deliver a lecture at the Institute entitled: ‘History is not to blame: commemorating Ireland, 1912-1922.’ The text of my talk is available from the Embassy’s News and Events section.

The Director of the Institute, Professor Marianne Elliott, a distinguished historian who has written about Wolfe Tone and Robert Emmet, has done great work over many years in developing the Institute and establishing it as a centre of excellence for Irish Studies.

I am a strong supporter of Irish Studies in Britain.  Our two countries have been deeply linked for centuries past, but this has often been a troubled connection, peppered with misapprehension and misunderstanding.    One way to cope with this legacy is for us to explore each other’s experience in a dispassionate and scholarly manner.  That is where Irish Studies can make a difference.  Those who have developed Irish Studies in Britain over the decades past have helped provide a platform for the positive evolution of relations between Ireland and Britain.  

Over the years, the Embassy has been active in supporting Irish Studies in Britain. The Institute of Irish Studies at Liverpool University, which was founded in 1988, received a major Irish Government endowment in 2007 with the establishment of the Blair Chair.  The Embassy has also provided financial support for the British Association for Irish Studies (BAIS) Postgraduate Bursary Scheme for well over a decade now. Through this scheme, BAIS make significant funds available to students researching Irish-related topics at British universities. 

The recent State Visit by President Higgins highlighted the enormous contribution the Irish Community has made to Britain over the years and drew attention to the many walks of life in which Irish people here excel. The continued development of Irish Studies in Britain seems to me to be totally in tune with this confident and positive mood of the Irish in Britain and the healthy state of relations between our two neighbouring countries.

I look forward during my time here to supporting individuals and institutions all over Britain that play their part in spreading knowledge and understanding of Ireland. I will be in Edinburgh on 27-29 June for the Conference of Irish Historians in Britain, an event that receives funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as part of our support for the development of Irish Studies in Britain. It will be a pleasure to meet with a range of scholars who are actively engaged in exploring our complex and fascinating Irish past.

Daniel Mulhall
Ambassador