Today, with my friend and Pretani colleague Helen Brooker, I attended in the Royal Irish Academy, Dawson Street, Dublin the launch of their book Towards Commemoration.

How should we commemorate the past? What are the potential benefits and dangers? How does commemoration relate to history? Contemporary Ireland, north and south, was founded in the decade 1912-1923. From the signing of the Ulster Unionists’ Solemn League and Covenant to the partitioning of the country and subsequent Civil War in the Irish Free State, a series of events shaped Ireland for the century to come.

Towards Commemoration arises from a project led by the Centre for War Studies, Trinity College Dublin, in association with the Princess Grace Irish Library, Monaco. It features essays by leading historians, journalists and civic activists debating how to make the most, and avoid the worst, of the centenary decade.

Contributors Include:

Ian Adamson, Tom Hartley, Paul Bew, Fintan O’Toole, Tom Burke, Anne Dolan, David Fitzpatrick, Paul Clark, John Horne, Keith Jeffery, Pierre Joannon, William Mulligan, Brian Hanley, Edward Madigan, Catriona Pennell, Stuart Ward, Jay Winter, Fearghal McGarry, Heather Jones.

The book was launched by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan TD who introduced former President Mary McAleese. The editors Professor John Horne of the Centre for War Studies,Trinity College Dublin and Dr Edward Madigan of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission also spoke.