Public History in Ireland: Difficult Histories

Through a collection of essays that reflect the complexity of the island’s historical past as it operates today, Public History in Ireland delivers a scholarly yet accessible introduction to contemporary topics and debates in Irish public history.

Despite the reputation that Ireland, both north and south, has gained as a place of contestation, this is the first book-length study to tackle its diverse and often ’difficult’ public histories. Public History in Ireland offers examples drawn not only from museums, heritage and collections, prime mediators of public historical interpretation, but also from the work of artists and academics. It considers the silences in Ireland’s history-telling, including those of the recent conflict in Northern Ireland and of the traumatic public discoveries and re-evaluations of the island’s institutions of social control. The book’s key message is that history is active, making itself felt in ongoing debates about heritage, identity, nationhood, post-conflict society and reparative justice. It shows that Irish public history is freighted and often fraught with jeopardy, but as such it is rich with insight that has relevance far beyond this island’s shores.

This book is useful for students, scholars and practitioners working in the fields of public history and the history of Ireland.

Leonie Hannan is a cultural and social historian at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, working on themes of gender, material culture and intellectual life. With a professional background in museums and collections, she also researches and teaches in the field of public history.

Olwen Purdue is Professor of Social History at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she works on the history of poverty, welfare and social class in the industrial city. She also directs the Centre for Public History at Queen’s, is a Director of the Irish Museums Association and collaborates closely with cultural partners.