MIC history lecturer Dr Miriam Nyhan has released a new volume evaluating the work of renowned Irish historian Joe Lee.
A Tract for Our Times: A Retrospective on Joe Lee's Ireland 1912–1985 brings together a number of leading historians to assess the impact of her former colleague, Professor Joe Lee, and his writing on contemporary Irish history and historiography.
Several contributors delve into various aspects of Lee's analysis, offering fresh perspectives, contextualisation and critical re-evaluations of his appraisals of modern Irish culture and history, specifically within his 1989 published work Ireland 1912–1985: Politics and Society. These essays measure and appraise the applicability of Ireland 1912–1985’s historiographical and methodological approach to recent history.
Discussing the release, Miriam said:
''It has been a point of personal privilege to edit A Tract for Our Times: A Retrospective on Joe Lee's Ireland 1912–1985 (UCD Press). This collection honours Professor Lee's monumental bestseller by gathering leading historians to assess its enduring impact on our understanding of modern Ireland. I hope this volume will inspire further reflection and discussion of Ireland's complex history and the methodologies we employ to study it.''
In his Irish Times review of the book, Professor Daniel Carey praised the analysis of Joe Lee’s work within her volume, declaring: ‘’Writing a historical classic is an elusive proposition. We’re more comfortable with identifying the phenomenon in literature where it is bound up with something singular and great emanating not just from a moment but from a particular mind. To achieve this in history, a work must also pass a test of truth and answer to the judgment of time, while asking us to think again about our assumptions and categories. Lee’s feat deserves that accolade, confirmed in this valuable appraisal.’’
Photo L - R: Professor Joe Lee, Dr Miriam Nyhan and broadcaster John Bowman at the launch of the volume.
