Diarmaid Ferriter is an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

, and university lecturer

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

. He has authored several books on the subject of Irish history

History of Ireland

The first known settlement in Ireland began around 8000 BC, when hunter-gatherers arrived from continental Europe, probably via a land bridge. Few archaeological traces remain of this group, but their descendants and later Neolithic arrivals, particularly from the Iberian Peninsula, were...

. Diarmaid attended St. Benildus College

St. Benildus College

St. Benildus College is a Catholic boys' secondary school located in Kilmacud, Dublin, Ireland. It was established in 1966 when free secondary education was introduced in Ireland. Founded in 1966, the College was named after the De La Salle Saint, Brother Benildus of Clermont, France.. As of 2005,...

 in Kilmacud

Kilmacud

Kilmacud is a suburban area in Dublin in the local authority area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.Kilmacud is the area west of Stillorgan. In essence, it is a collection of middle-class housing estates built in the 1950s by a range of small private construction companies to cater for the growing market...

 in Dublin.

Career

Ferriter is Professor of Modern Irish History at University College Dublin

University College Dublin

University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...

. He was formerly a senior lecturer in history at St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra

St. Patrick's College of Education (Drumcondra)

St Patrick's College of Education is a linked college of Dublin City University since 1993, located in Drumcondra, Dublin City, Ireland. The college is in existence since 1875 and has a Roman Catholic ethos. It is the largest primary teacher training college in Ireland...

, Dublin City University

Dublin City University

Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...

. He is also the host of "What If", a radio programme that broadcasts weekly on RTÉ 1

RTÉ Radio 1

RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...

. In 2007, Ferriter wrote the critically acclaimed biography, Judging Dev. This was an insight into one of Ireland's most influential leaders, Éamon de Valera

Éamon de Valera

Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...

. http://www.dev.ie/ It won in three categories of the 2008 Irish Book Awards

Irish Book Awards

The Irish Book Awards is an annual Irish literary award given to books and authors in various categories. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. First awarded in 2006, they grew out of the Hughes & Hughes bookstore's Irish Novel of the Year Prize which was inaugurated in...

. .
He was Burns Scholar at Boston College from 2008 to 2009.
In 2004, his book The Transformation of Ireland 1900-2000, at 900 pages and containing many new perspectives on modern Irish history, was considered a landmark publication. His latest book is Occasions of Sin: Sex and Society in Modern Ireland (2009), considered the definitive history of sexuality in twentieth century Ireland.

In June 2010 he presented a 3-part television series "The Limits of Liberty", about how the senior politicians of the Irish Republic

Irish Republic

The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919. It established a legislature , a government , a court system and a police force...

 and Irish Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

were more concerned about holding on to power than changing policy for the benefit of the people.