History of the History Department

Modern Times: 1994 to Present

Today the History Department combines the specialist functions of the three former Departments. Following the death of Professor John Barry (1989) and the retirement of Professor John A Murphy (1990), the three Departments were merged under the chairmanship of Professor Joseph Lee. Since 1993, History has grown, expanding its specialisms, enhancing its multidisciplinary approach to the subject, and increasing its teaching staff complement.

Under the present Head of Department, Professor Dermot Keogh, the History Department has approximately 30 full-time and part-time teaching staff, and is one of the largest Departments in the Arts Faculty in UCC. Undergraduate student numbers are large and growing, complemented by the highest number of graduate research students in the Faculty. The History Department has, also, in recent years become the most attractive Departments to visiting students, especially North American students.

Three History Departments: 1960s – 1990s

The 1960s ushered in significant changes in History at UCC. Three distinct departments were established of Medieval, Irish and Modern History. After Professor Hogan’s retirement in 1963, there was no immediate replacement. Instead, following the appointment of Professor Pender to Irish History, further recognition was given to specialisation. In 1965 John Barry was appointed Professor of Medieval History. Oliver MacDonagh took the chair of Modern History in 1968, and John A Murphy, attached to the History teaching staff since 1960, succeeded Professor Pender in the Irish History chair in 1971. After Oliver MacDonagh moved to the Australian National University, the Modern chair was filled by John Joseph Lee.

These developments accelerated trends already evident in Cork: increasing specialisation and growing numbers of staff, undergraduate and graduate students. Specialisation was facilitated by the increase in staff numbers and the recruitment of new staff bringing expertise in medieval, early modern and modern history, in Irish and international fields. This in turn allowed greater options in the growing field of graduate research. Graduate research numbers quadrupled from the 1960s to the early 1990s, to an average of over 50 students. The focus of research shifted also from mainly Irish topics to embrace a wide variety of fields in social, economic, cultural, political, intellectual and diplomatic fields, reflecting the wider interests of the supervisory staff.

New dimensions would also be added to History too. In 1978 Gearóid O’Crualaoich established the Irish folklore studies within the department, and it would later form a distinct department of its own, An Roinn Bhealadois. In the 1980s, too, in recognition of the growing importance of Europe integration, the need to provide specific, focused European Integration Studies was recognised, with the Modern History Department anchoring the establishment of that programme in Cork. The early focus and drive in this area saw many benefits, including the award of a Jean Monnet Professorship in Integration Integration Studies to Dermot Keogh in 1989.

From Queen’s College Cork to University College Cork, 1849-1909

History has been offered at Queen’s College Cork (QCC) as an academic subject from its foundation. In 1849, History students were enrolled among the first group of scholars. The subject was offered as part of the Chair of English Language, Literature and History from then until the transition of QCC to a constituent College of the National University of Ireland in 1909.

Under the first Professor, Rev. Charles Darley, the History curriculum ranged from the third to the fifteenth century. Under Darley’s successor, William Rushton, the curriculum was extended to include the French Revolution and the end of the eighteenth century.

In 1909 the University was restructured, and University College Cork (UCC) emerged as a distinctive College of the three-member National University of Ireland. Patrick Merriman was appointed to the first separate Chair of History the same year. He had an immediate impact on the popularity of the discipline, offering History in four of the eight faculties of the university. These developments led to an increase in student numbers.

Between 1909 and Professor Merriman’s promotion to the Presidency of UCC in 1919, the number of History students increased thirteen-fold. James Hogan succeeded Patrick Merriman in the Chair of History in 1921 and occupied it until 1963. Hogan was noted for his ‘high seriousness of purpose, disinterested probity, dedication to learning and devotion to duty’. One might add devotion to his subject as History in UCC, which already had established a multidisciplinary approach, expanded its horizons even further. Professor Hogan pioneered approaches to the study of political science as reflected in his prolific published output. He also broadened the curriculum to embrace modern nationalism and internationalism, and heightened awareness of Irish history, catering for general and specialist approaches to history.

As teaching commitments grew, so also did staffing levels. A specific Research Professorship in Irish History was established in 1948 and held by Denis Gwynn until his retirement in 1963. He also succeeded Dr Alfred O’Rahilly as general editor of the Cork University Press in 1955. In that year Séamus Pender, attached to Cork since 1938, was appointed to the first chair of Irish History.

The range of the curriculum was by this stage broad, reflecting staff interests in European, Irish and International history – Medieval and Modern, from Antiquity to the Cold War - embracing political ideas, ecclesiastical history, ideologies, and social and economic issues.