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The eighteenth-century was the heyday of the Protestant ascendancy. McBride, however, acknowledges that the greatest advance in the history of the time has been the recovery of Catholic attitudes during the zenith of the ascendancy. McBride insists on the continuity of Catholic politics and traditions right through the century, so that the nationalist explosion in the 1790s is seen not as a sudden earthquake, but as the maturing of an underground tradition. This holistic survey cuts past the clichés and lazy thinking that has characterised our understanding of the eighteenth century. It sets a template for future understanding of that time.
Professor Ian McBride teaches Irish and British History in the Department of History at King’s College, London. Prior to joining King’s College in 2000, he lectured at the University of Durham following three years as a research fellow at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He received his PhD from the University of London, and his BA from Jesus College, Oxford.
A native of Armagh, he is the author of The Siege of Derry in Unionist Imagination and Scripture Politics: Ulster Presbyterians and Irish Radicalism in the Late Eighteenth Century and has written on various aspects of modern Irish history. He continues to publish work in this period, particularly on the experiences of Irish Catholics during the ‘penal times’ and on the Irish writings of Jonathan Swift.
Professor McBride’s second major field of research focuses on the controversial role of collective memories and commemorations in Irish culture. His edited collection of essays History and Memory in Modern Ireland (Cambridge, 2001) is generally recognised as the starting point for scholarly discussion in this rapidly growing area. His recent research focuses on debates over truth and reconciliation in Northern Ireland since 1998, and the relationship between political violence, representations of the past and professional historiography.
