ALES Archives and Public History - Part One (June 2024)

Speaker: Dr Karol Mullaney-Dignam

This is the first part of Archives and Public History recording, please view part two after this video to experience the entire event. The sessions consider the impact of public histories and showcase examples of these activities.

Our speaker for this session is:

Dr Karol Mullaney-Dignam: “Complicating the past: public history in Ireland.”
Karol’s paper will present an overview of public history in Ireland, highlighting some of the current issues and trends in the Republic as well as the roles of collections and archives. Public history is an exciting, dynamic, and increasingly progressive field of study and practice in Ireland with many different forms, venues, and audiences. It is also complicated by the island’s complex history, particularly the relationship with its nearest geographical neighbour, and therefore not without its challenges and controversies. Where once the primary concern was education and engagement, a key impetus now is representation and participation, resulting in competing narratives and tensions around the location of historical authority.

Complicating the past: Public History in Ireland presentation slides