What role did Ireland play in the making of empires? In this episode of Reimagining Ireland, Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, Trinity College Dublin, introduces her acclaimed book Making Empire, based on her James Ford Lectures. She shows how Ireland was not just shaped by empire but also shaped it — serving both as a site of colonisation and a platform for colonisers. Covering two centuries, from the mid-1500s to the mid-1700s, Ohlmeyer explores Ireland’s integral place in the English imperial system, the Irish as agents of empire, and the impact of empire on everyday lives. A conversation that challenges familiar nationalist narratives and places Ireland in a wider global context.

Jane took part in the workshop “Sources from the margins: reflections on the empire in Ireland, Scotland and Wales (1530s-1790s)" organized by Marie Curie researcher Feliks Levin (Postdoctoral Fellowship under contract number 101105224)

Reimagining Ireland is presented by Katrine Nyland Sørensen and produced for the Classical Influences and Irish Culture project, funded by the European Research Council 818366 and hosted at the Centre for Irish Studies at Aarhus University in Denmark.

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