ABSTRACT
At a speech in April 2018 to mark the launch of The Cambridge History of Ireland, President Michael D. Higgins spoke passionately about the importance of knowing the past. ‘A knowledge and understanding of history’, he observed, ‘is intrinsic to our shared citizenship. To be without such knowledge is to be permanently burdened with a lack of perspective, empathy and wisdom’. He continued that ‘to be without historical training, the careful and necessary capability to filter and critically interpret a variety of sources, is to leave citizens desperately ill-equipped to confront a world in which information is increasingly disseminated without historical perspective or even regard for the truth.’ 2 In short, history matters now more than ever. 3
