Professor Ian McBride teaches Irish and British History in the Department of History at King’s College, London. Prior to joining King’s College in 2000, he lectured at the University of Durham following three years as a research fellow at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He received his PhD from the University of London, and his BA from Jesus College, Oxford. A native of Armagh, he is the author of The Siege of Derry in Unionist Imagination and Scripture Politics: Ulster Presbyterians and Irish Radicalism in the Late Eighteenth Century and has written on various aspects of modern Irish history. He continues to publish work in this period, particularly on the experiences of Irish Catholics during the ‘penal times’ and on the Irish writings of Jonathan Swift. Professor McBride’s second major field of research focuses on the controversial role of collective memories and commemorations in Irish culture. His edited collection of essays History and Memory in Modern Ireland (Cambridge, 2001) is generally recognised as the starting point for scholarly discussion in this rapidly growing area. His recent research focuses on debates over truth and reconciliation in Northern Ireland since 1998, and the relationship between political violence, representations of the past and professional historiography.