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Historians and the Famine: a beleaguered species?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

Mary E. Daly
Mary E. Daly*
Affiliation:
Department of Modern Irish History, University College, Dublin
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Extract

Christine Kinealy has claimed that ‘more has been written to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine than was written in the whole period since 1850’. This is probably true. Anniversaries of major historical events now give rise to commemorative events ranging from scholarly conferences to the unveiling of memorial plaques, even to pop concerts. There appears to be a premium on being first in the field, and a corresponding waning of interest as attention shifts to the next anniversary. Harvard University organised its conference marking the bicentenary of the French Revolution in 1988. The summer of 1847 was taken as the cutoff point for the Irish government’s official commemoration of the Famine, in order to make way for the bicentenary of 1798, despite the fact that a majority of famine victims probably died after that date. Commemorating historical events boosts book sales, and publishers appear eager to respond to popular demand. Unfortunately the interest may prove too short-lived to afford time for major research, and many of the resulting books either recycle existing material or give the appearance of being in need of further work.

Type
Review Article
Information
Irish Historical Studies , Volume 30 , Issue 120 , November 1997 , pp. 591 - 601
Copyright
Copyright © Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd 1997

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