Taoiseach to visit Cambridge University
- Published on: 20 February 2026
- Last updated on: 20 February 2026
Taoiseach Micheál Martin will today (20 February) visit Cambridge University and deliver an address at Trinity College to mark the establishment of a permanent Chair of Irish History at the University.
The Professorship will be known as the Childers Chair, named in honour of former president Erskine Childers and his father Robert Erskine Childers - both Cambridge University alumni and significant Irish historical figures.
The Childers Chair has been funded by a one-off endowment of €4.3 million from the Government’s Reconciliation Fund. The focus of the Reconciliation Fund is on building better relations within and between traditions in Northern Ireland, between North and South, and between Ireland and Great Britain.
Speaking prior to his departure for London, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said:
"I am delighted to be in Cambridge today to mark the establishment of the Childers Chair of Irish History in Trinity College Cambridge.
"This new Chair will deepen and enrich scholarship and build a greater understanding of the complex and interlinked political, economic and social histories of Ireland and Britain, and how these histories entwined to shape our two countries and the evolving relationship between us."
ENDS