College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Historian’s book welcomed at Royal Irish Academy

A new book by History Professor Alvin Jackson has been launched by Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar, at the Royal Irish Academy.

Professor Jackson’s new book ‘Judging Redmond and Carson’ marks the centenary of the death of John Redmond, the leader of Irish nationalism (1900-18).

Professor Jackson delivered a presentation titled ‘Redmond and Carson: bloodshed, borders and beyond’.

Speaking at the event Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described Jackson as one of the finest historians writing about Irish and British history.

He said the new work  adds to Professor Jackson's considerable reputation which represents a more nuanced and mature approach to the conflicts that shaped the Irish state and the state of Northern Ireland as each approach their centenary.

Professor Jackson has been Richard Lodge Professor of History at the University of Edinburgh since 2005 and has served as Head of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at Edinburgh and as Dean of Research and Depute Head of the College of Humanities and Social Science. 

He holds a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship to develop his comparative work on union states.

The launch of the book, which is published by the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), followed on from a day-long symposium on the Irish Parliamentary Party to mark the centenary of John Redmond’s death.

Professor Alvin Jackson

Royal Irish Academy

Image From left: Leo Varadkar TD, Professor Alvin Jackson, Professor Michael Peter Kennedy, President of the Royal Irish Academy