Tánaiste announces endowment of Chair of Irish History at University of Cambridge

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Harris TD, on behalf of the Government of Ireland, today announced the establishment of a permanent Chair of Irish History at Cambridge University through a €4.3 million (£3.6 GBP) endowment.

The Tánaiste said: “Cambridge has a distinguished tradition of research and teaching in Irish History. This work has played an important part in deepening understanding of the complex shared political, religious, social and economic histories of Ireland and Britain.

“This new initiative will ensure that Irish history continues to be studied in one of the world’s leading universities, and that new research will help us better understand our shared history. It will be a permanent bridge between our two countries, connecting people and illuminating the unique relationships across these islands, north and south, east and west.

“We have a shared responsibility to understand each other better, understand our past more clearly, and work together to build a better future. At times over the past decade, it has felt that such understanding has been missing from public debate. The Childers Chair will be an important and enduring contribution to that work.”

The Professorship will be known as the Childers Chair in honour of Robert Erskine Childers and Erskine Hamilton Childers, both Cambridge alumni and the latter the fourth President of Ireland.

The University will have sole responsibility for appointing and managing the position. An international recruitment process is ongoing, with the role expected to be filled in October 2026.

Professor Lucy Delap, Head of the Faculty of History at Cambridge, welcomed the announcement: “The Faculty of History has long been home to innovative research and teaching on Ireland, but we have never had the chance to appoint to a permanent post in the field. The foundation of the Childers Professorship will galvanize our work in this area and enable Cambridge to emerge as a world-leading centre for the study of Irish History.”

Professor Richard Bourke, Professor of the History of Political Thought and Fellow of King's College, said: “This generous donation will have a transformative impact on the study of Irish history at the University of Cambridge and stimulate research both across the United Kingdom and globally, deepening academic contacts at all levels throughout these islands.”

The announcement was made today during a conference organised by Churchill College and the Churchill Archives Centre on the 40th anniversary of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, signed on 15 November 1985 by Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The Agreement laid the foundations for British‑Irish partnership on Northern Ireland, a key foundation for the peace process and a crucial step in the development of British‑Irish relations more broadly.

ENDS

Press Office

13 November 2025

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has a long-standing relationship with the University of Cambridge. The Reconciliation Fund awarded the University €300,000 in December 2020 for a 3-year lectureship in modern Irish history.