Irish Research Council welcomes publication of The Cambridge History of Ireland

The Irish Research Council has today welcomed the publication of The Cambridge History of Ireland, a four-volume series documenting the story of Ireland from 600 AD to the present day.

Over 100 historians from across the world contributed to the series, including 39 academics who have received funding for their work from the Irish Research Council.

Commenting today, Peter Brown, Director of the Irish Research Council, said: “The Cambridge History of Ireland is a landmark publication, providing a truly comprehensive and analytical account of Ireland’s history over the past 1,400 years.

“Many of the world’s leading historians have contributed to the series, and it is notable that almost 40 per cent of the contributors are ‘alumni’ of the Irish Research Council: academics who have been supported to develop their careers by Council funding.

“A publication such as this is testament to the high calibre of researchers we produce in this country across all disciplines. This publication will be read around the world, bringing new insights to the global community interested in the evolution of this small but richly historical island. We should herald more the kind of impact generated by the humanities, and this work is a perfect example of that.”

In addition to featuring almost 40 Irish Research Council alumni, Volume 2 of The Cambridge History of Ireland series was edited by Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, current Chair of the Irish Research Council.

Commenting on the publication, Professor Ohlmeyer – who is also Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Modern History at Trinity College Dublin and Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub – said: “The volumes bring together contributors from institutions in China, the US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and, of course, Ireland.

“It comes as little surprise that so many of the contributors are based in Ireland, where the research funding landscape was transformed in 2000 by the formal establishment of the Irish Research Council for the Social Sciences and Humanities – a precursor to the Irish Research Council.

“The welcome injection of funding into humanities research in the intervening years has no doubt contributed to the extraordinary growth of high-quality publications.  Thirty-nine of our contributors received funding for their own research projects from the Irish Research Council but, on top of that, many others, especially those based outside of Ireland, have been involved with the Council as assessors and evaluators.”

The Cambridge History of Ireland is being officially launched in the UK (on 10 May) and Ireland (today), with Peter Brown attending the London and Dublin and Professor Jane Ohlmeyer the Dublin launch events.

Further information on the series is available on the publisher’s website.