Contributor:

Professor Diane Urquhart

Talk Title:

Gender and Partition

Talk Synopsis:

This talk explores the gender dimension to Partition, including its background and effects. It looks at the role played by the Ulster Women’s Unionist Council as ‘the largest body of political women in Ireland’s history’ and the ways in which women’s lives were affected by the politics, policies and attitudes of the states that emerged from the post-Partition period. It draws on contemporary accounts of events in the early 1920s, including about the impact of violence on community relations and against women. And it suggests that hearing ‘a different cast of voices, many of them female, allows partition to emerge as a history that is replete with raw emotion’, revealing ‘a gender history that often unites more than it divides those who were placed on both sides of the Irish border.’

Short Biography:

Diane Urquhart is Professor of Gender History at Queen's University Belfast and President of the Women's History Association of Ireland (WHAI).

Further Reading:

Women and the Irish Revolution – Linda Connolly (ed.)

Contributor:

Professor Diarmaid Ferriter

Talk Title:

The Partitionist Mentality

Talk Synopsis:

This talk explores how Partition affected relationships between nationalist politicians on either side of the border. It suggests that these were characterised by a ‘partitionist mentality’ and that for many decades there was only limited engagement by successive Dublin governments in northern affairs. It looks at how attitudes have changed over time, the impact of the Troubles and more recent political agreements but also some of the differences between the outlook and experiences of ‘the northern and southern keepers of the flame of Irish unity’ – something that Professor Ferriter says is ‘a significant and under-explored complication’.

Short Biography:

Diarmaid Ferriter is Professor of Modern Irish History at UCD and member of the Royal Irish Academy.

Further Reading:

The Partition of Ireland 1911-25 – Michael Laffan

Contributor:

Professor Mary E. Daly

Talk Title:

Partition and the Two Irelands

Talk Synopsis:

This talk explores how Partition was ‘a defining moment for the two Irish states that were founded in the early 1920s’ and its impact on politics, inter-governmental relations and border communities. It suggests that Partition ‘accentuated differences and contrasting identities’ in both jurisdictions and that both ‘Ireland and Northern Ireland suffered from a sense of incompleteness’ from what happened and all that followed. It describes how attitudes and relationships have changed over time and also the gaps in ‘real knowledge’ of each other that remain for many people living in different parts of the island.

Short Biography:

Mary E. Daly is Professor Emerita in Irish History at University College Dublin. She is a member of the Expert Advisory Group that advises the Irish government on the commemorative programme for the Decade of Centenaries 2012-23.

Further reading:

Sixties Ireland, Reshaping the economy, state and society 1957-1973 – Mary E. Daly

Contributor:

Professor Lord Bew

Talk Title:

Home Rule and the Ulster Crisis

Talk Synopsis:

This talk explores the historic failure of the ‘union concept’ for most Irish people, but also its popularity in the north east. It describes the background to Partition, its social and economic context, and the role played by key political figures. And it concludes with an assessment of community relations at the time of Northern Ireland’s establishment (and afterwards), and a reminder that its future remains as unpredictable as the past 100 years have been.

Short Biography:

The Lord Bew (Paul) is Emeritus Professor of Politics at Queen’s University Belfast and serves as a Crossbench Life Peer, currently as Chair of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. He is the independent chair of the Centenary Historical Advisory Panel.

Further Reading:

Northern Ireland 1921-2001: Political Power and Social Classes - Paul Bew, Peter Gibbon and Henry Patterson

Professor Richard English from Queen’s University Belfast explains the background to this extended series of talks which has been developed with broadcast support from the BBC.

Each talk lasts approximately 20mins and provides specialist insight from a leading academic on specific aspects of Partition, its causes and effects.

Those taking part are drawn from different academic backgrounds and their talks are intended to facilitate understanding of, and debate about, this important subject – in all of its complexity.

The Partition of Ireland: Causes and Consequences has been supported by the UK and Irish governments, and by the Royal Irish Academy and British Academy.