Ireland was England’s oldest colony. Making Empire revisits the history of empire in Ireland in a time of Brexit, ‘the culture wars’, and the campaigns around ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Statues must fall’ to better understand how it has formed the present, and how it might shape the future.

In this event Jane Ohlmeyer examines how Empire and imperial frameworks, policies, practices, and cultures have shaped the history of the world for the last two millennia. It is nation states that are the blip on the historical horizon.

Making Empire re-examines empire as process and Ireland’s role in it through the lens of early modernity. It covers the two hundred years, between the mid-sixteenth century and the mid-eighteenth century, that equate roughly to the timespan of the First English Empire (c.1550-c.1770s).

This event will be chaired by Professor Patrick Geoghan.

This event will be livestreamed on the day via the festival website at dublinfestivalofhistory.ie/live

Note: Booking essential for in-person attendance. No registration required for online viewing