Gerry Cleary, PhD
New Year 2025
10 weekly sessions on Fridays 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm, starting 24 January
The idea of a ‘Republic’ originated in Ancient Greece and Rome and then evolved into the aristocratic republics of medieval Italy. By contrast, Pre-Plantation Gaelic Ulster society was based on the hierarchical, aristocratic clan system. The course will then examine the beginnings of Republican thought amongst early Protestant Dissenter thinkers in the 17th Century. and deal with one of the first European Protestant republics - Cromwell's ‘Commonwealth of England and Ireland’. We then examine radical thinking in, Scotland and Ulster in the 18th Century, culminating in the huge contribution of Protestant Ulster to the United Irishmen's 1798 Rebellion. Also reviewed will be the role of Ulster Scots activists in the creation of the Federal Republic of the United States. The continued if diminished influence of Ulster Republican thinking will be considered up to the foundation of Northern Ireland and The Irish Free State in the 1920s. Finally, the modern role of Republicanism in Ireland north and south will be critically examined and an analysis made of the prospects of the Concept of a Republic in the 21st Century island of Ireland. The course should provide plenty of opportunity for lively discussion!
Fee £92.00 (concession rate £66.00)
10 CATS Points (Level 1)
This class will take place on QUB campus
Concession: The concession rate is available for those who are in receipt of State Benefits (including pension), or are full-time students, part or full-time Queen’s students or are members of University staff holding a valid staff card:
Course:
