About

Throughout the 20th Century, the constitutional status of Northern Ireland was heavily contested by the supporters of nationalism and those of unionism, the former predominantly Catholic and the latter Protestant. Just as there was no political consensus between these two communities, nor was there any consensus over Irish history. Myth and martyrdom shaped both sides of the religious and political divide, inspiring bitterness among successive generations of nationalists and unionists. Controversies over historical violence, instances of selective amnesia and almost incongruous narratives between these two traditions culminated in intense sensitivity over the revision and retelling of Ireland’s past.

The BBC played a paramount role in chronicling events of the conflict in Northern Ireland to audiences in Britain during the 1970s and 80s. The Corporation faced criticism from all sides as it navigated its way through this crisis and strove to deliver insightful information to the public. The BBC was determined to chronicle events fairly and to clarify the context of the violence. One aspect of this contextualisation was the BBC’s production of Irish history programmes. The Corporation engaged with prominent historians who were part of a new movement in Irish historiography which prioritised objectivity and strove to demolish historical myths. They helped to create engaging and informative BBC programmes which observed how Ireland’s complex history had shaped the ongoing conflict. 

This project will investigate the BBC’s commission of Irish history programmes prior to and during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It will focus on three case studies, examining the production process, content and scope of each. This research will determine how far the sensitivity surrounding news and current affairs programmes on Northern Ireland also extended to educational and historical programming. This is an investigation into how far the BBC contributed to a dismantling of divisve Irish historical myths.