Peter Hart
Encyclopedia
Peter Hart was a Canadian
historian, specialising in modern Irish history.
, Newfoundland
. He studied for one year at the Memorial University of Newfoundland
before moving to study at Queen's University
in Kingston, Ontario
. He graduated from there with an Honours BA
degree. Subsequently, Hart completed a Masters degree in International Relations at Yale University
.
He then moved to Ireland to do PhD
work at Trinity College, Dublin
. His thesis was on the Irish Republican Army
in County Cork
, an epicenter of the Irish War of Independence
, which was the basis of his first book, The IRA and its Enemies. After completing his doctorate, Hart accepted a five year teaching and research position at Queen's University Belfast. In 2003, having completed this contract, Hart moved back to Canada to take up the position of Canada Research Chair in Irish Studies at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. He was also an associate professor at Memorial University.
In the 1990s he developed cancer and underwent a liver transplant - events which permanently affected his health. He suffered a brain haemorrhage early in July 2010 and died on 22 July 2010 in a St. John's hospital at the age of 46.
1919–21 and the Irish Civil War
1922–23).
The first of these books is titled The IRA and Its Enemies, Violence and Community in Cork, 1916–1923 (1998), a study of the organisation's social composition and actions in County Cork
during the War of Independence. This book won several awards, including the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize
(1998).
Hart then published British Intelligence in Ireland 1920–21: the Final Reports (2002) and The I.R.A. at War 1916–1923 (Oxford University Press, 2003), a collection of essays on various social, political and military aspects of the IRA in these years. They represent, Hart wrote in the preface, "sixteen years' work on the history of the Irish revolution." Peter Hart’s last work is a biography of Michael Collins
, titled Mick: the real Michael Collins (Macmillan, 2006).
Hart also contributed to the volume The Irish Revolution (2002), which is a collection of articles by various historians of the period.
", calling it "pejorative labelling". In his review of The IRA and its Enemies: Violence and Community in Cork, 1916–1923, fellow historian John Regan writes "Hart is neither a statist nor a southern nationalist
, though the influence of both ideologies can be traced though his work."
A number of the claims Hart made in his books attracted criticism from other historians and writers.
Two incidents discussed in The IRA and its Enemies are particularly controversial. One is the Kilmichael Ambush
of 28 November 1920. Hart challenged IRA Flying Column commander Tom Barry
's Guerrilla Days in Ireland (1949) account. Barry stated that surviving Auxiliaries
were shot after they engaged in a false surrender, resulting in two IRA fatalities. Hart stated that this did not happen and alleged that Barry ordered the killing of Auxiliary prisoners. Especially controversial is Hart's use of anonymous interviews in his account. Historian Meda Ryan, author of Tom Barry, IRA Freedom Fighter (2003), disputed Hart's claim to have interviewed two IRA Kilmichael veterans in 1988 and 1989. She stated that only the last surviving Kilmichael veteran, Ned Young, was alive then and that he was too ill to have contributed to Hart's research.
The second controversy surrounds the Dunmanway killings, in which ten Protestant men were shot in late April 1922. Hart has written that the incident was a sectarian atrocity, "these men were shot because they were Protestant". Again, this is heavily contested. Others have argued that the men were targeted for their role as informers for the British.
Hart stood by his work, stating that critics have failed to "engage with the book's larger arguments about the nature of the IRA and the Irish Revolution" and believing they are closed to "a real debate where people concede some things and put forward others or are skeptical about weak points and accept the strong points." Hart's last known interview was in a TG4 Irish language programme on Tom Barry, broadcast in January 2011, that questioned his use of anonymous sources and other claims.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
historian, specialising in modern Irish history.
Life
Hart was born and raised in St. John'sSt. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
. He studied for one year at the Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...
before moving to study at Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
in Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
. He graduated from there with an Honours BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree. Subsequently, Hart completed a Masters degree in International Relations at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
He then moved to Ireland to do PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
work at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
. His thesis was on the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
in County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, an epicenter of the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
, which was the basis of his first book, The IRA and its Enemies. After completing his doctorate, Hart accepted a five year teaching and research position at Queen's University Belfast. In 2003, having completed this contract, Hart moved back to Canada to take up the position of Canada Research Chair in Irish Studies at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. He was also an associate professor at Memorial University.
In the 1990s he developed cancer and underwent a liver transplant - events which permanently affected his health. He suffered a brain haemorrhage early in July 2010 and died on 22 July 2010 in a St. John's hospital at the age of 46.
Works
He wrote several books on what he termed the "Irish Revolution" of 1919–23 (more commonly referred to as the Irish War of IndependenceIrish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
1919–21 and the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
1922–23).
The first of these books is titled The IRA and Its Enemies, Violence and Community in Cork, 1916–1923 (1998), a study of the organisation's social composition and actions in County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
during the War of Independence. This book won several awards, including the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize
Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize
The Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize was created in 1977, in memory of Christopher Ewart-Biggs, British Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, who was assassinated by the IRA in 1976....
(1998).
Hart then published British Intelligence in Ireland 1920–21: the Final Reports (2002) and The I.R.A. at War 1916–1923 (Oxford University Press, 2003), a collection of essays on various social, political and military aspects of the IRA in these years. They represent, Hart wrote in the preface, "sixteen years' work on the history of the Irish revolution." Peter Hart’s last work is a biography of Michael Collins
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
, titled Mick: the real Michael Collins (Macmillan, 2006).
Hart also contributed to the volume The Irish Revolution (2002), which is a collection of articles by various historians of the period.
Review and criticism
According to the Times Higher Education, Hart's work "offers a revisionist version of events that proved highly controversial." However, Hart disputed that he was a "revisionistHistorical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event...
", calling it "pejorative labelling". In his review of The IRA and its Enemies: Violence and Community in Cork, 1916–1923, fellow historian John Regan writes "Hart is neither a statist nor a southern nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
, though the influence of both ideologies can be traced though his work."
A number of the claims Hart made in his books attracted criticism from other historians and writers.
Two incidents discussed in The IRA and its Enemies are particularly controversial. One is the Kilmichael Ambush
Kilmichael Ambush
The Kilmichael Ambush was an ambush near the village of Kilmichael in County Cork on 28 November 1920 carried out by the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence. Thirty-six local IRA volunteers commanded by Tom Barry killed seventeen members of the RIC Auxiliary Division...
of 28 November 1920. Hart challenged IRA Flying Column commander Tom Barry
Tom Barry
Thomas Barry was one of the most prominent guerrilla leaders in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence.-Early life:...
's Guerrilla Days in Ireland (1949) account. Barry stated that surviving Auxiliaries
Auxiliary Division
The Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary , generally known as the Auxiliaries or Auxies, was a paramilitary organization within the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Irish War of Independence....
were shot after they engaged in a false surrender, resulting in two IRA fatalities. Hart stated that this did not happen and alleged that Barry ordered the killing of Auxiliary prisoners. Especially controversial is Hart's use of anonymous interviews in his account. Historian Meda Ryan, author of Tom Barry, IRA Freedom Fighter (2003), disputed Hart's claim to have interviewed two IRA Kilmichael veterans in 1988 and 1989. She stated that only the last surviving Kilmichael veteran, Ned Young, was alive then and that he was too ill to have contributed to Hart's research.
The second controversy surrounds the Dunmanway killings, in which ten Protestant men were shot in late April 1922. Hart has written that the incident was a sectarian atrocity, "these men were shot because they were Protestant". Again, this is heavily contested. Others have argued that the men were targeted for their role as informers for the British.
Hart stood by his work, stating that critics have failed to "engage with the book's larger arguments about the nature of the IRA and the Irish Revolution" and believing they are closed to "a real debate where people concede some things and put forward others or are skeptical about weak points and accept the strong points." Hart's last known interview was in a TG4 Irish language programme on Tom Barry, broadcast in January 2011, that questioned his use of anonymous sources and other claims.
External links
- Peter Hart homepage at the Memorial University of NewfoundlandMemorial University of NewfoundlandMemorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...
. - Obituary to Hart in the Newfoundland Globe and Mail
- Irish Times obituary
- A review of Hart's historiography by John Dorney
- A review of Hart's historiography, part one by Niall Meehan
- A review of Hart's historiography, part two by Niall Meehan
- Troubled History - A Tenth Anniversary Critique of Peter Hart's The IRA and its Enemies