The Irish Historical Research Prize, first awarded in 1922, is offered in alternate years for the best new work of historical research with a significant Irish dimension, which must have been published for the first time, by a graduate of the National University of Ireland.
The work must be substantial and of an original character indicating direct research in historical records. In 2017, NUI instituted the IHRP Lecture series whereby the winner of the prize is invited to deliver a lecture on their work.
Forgetting in the Decade of Commemorations:
New Directions for Irish Historical Research
By Professor Guy Beiner
In 2019, the Irish Historical Research Prize Lecture was given by Professor Guy Beiner in 49 Merrion Square at 6pm.
His winning book Forgetful Remembrance: Social Forgetting and Vernacular Historiography of a Rebellion in Ulster (Oxford University Press, 2018) re-examined the history of Ulster through the prism of remembering and forgetting and provided a ground-breaking study of the history of forgetting.
In his lecture, Prof Beiner reflected on Ireland’s commemorations of historical events and how this has stimulated many studies on history and remembrance, which have in part contributed to a memory studies internationally. By examining the concept that memory is inextricably intertwined with forgetting, the lecture focused on the original concept of ‘social forgetting’, challenging standard notions of ‘collective memory’, drawing attention to limitations in what historians can do in helping us to understand the past and pointing to the contributions of other disciplines such as sociology and anthropology, in all demonstrating the potential for a more complex understanding of the interplay of history and memory.
Available free of charge from NUI. Contact publications@nui.ie for a copy
Governing Hibernia and the Making of a Historian of Ireland
By Professor Theodore K. Hoppen
The inaugural Irish Historical Research Prize Lecture was given by Professor Theodore K. Hoppen in the Royal College of Surgeons on 17 November at 6pm.
His winning book Governing Ireland: British Politicians and Ireland 1800-1921 (Oxford University Press, 2016) examined how successive British governments sought to govern Ireland following the Act of Union in 1800, and argued that London’s policies towards Ireland in the period showed little understanding of Ireland and oscillated sharply between coercion and assimilation.
In the lecture, Professor Hoppen explored the key themes of his book from a unique reflective position; examining his own personal relationship with Ireland, his adopted homeland.
Available free of charge from NUI. Contact publications@nui.ie for a copy
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