John Joseph Lee (born 9 July 1942) (commonly known as J. J. Lee), is an Irish historian and former senator. He has held the chairs of Modern History in

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

and Professor of History and Glucksman Professor for Irish Studies and Director of Glucksman Ireland House, at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Biography

Born in

Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

, he spent his early years in

Castlegregory Castlegregory (, meaning "castle of Griaire") is a village in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the north side of the Dingle Peninsula, halfway between Tralee and Dingle. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, ...

in the same county. He also lived for some years in

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway, Ireland. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-centur ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, where he attended national school. In 1954, he was awarded a

Galway County Council Galway County Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ho ...

scholarship to attend

Gormanston College Franciscan College Gormanston is a school operated and managed by the Irish province of the Order of the Friars Minor. The college operates under the trusteeship of the Minister Provincial and Definitory of the Franciscan Province of Ireland. ...

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

. He graduated in 1962 from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

with first-class honours in History and Economics. He completed his MA some years later on the history of the railways in nineteenth-century Ireland. He was also a graduate student of

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

. In 1973, he published ''The Modernisation of Irish Society, 1848–1918''. The following year he moved back to Ireland to become Professor of Modern History at University College Cork, succeeding Oliver MacDonagh. He held the chair until 2002 when he took up his position at New York University. He retired in September 2017. NYU's J.Joseph Lee to retire as Director of Glucksman Ireland House NYU Press Release 11 September 2017.
/ref> His 1989 '' Ireland, 1912–1985: Politics and Society'' won the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

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'' prize for History in 1991; and both the

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

prize for Literature and the J.S. Donnelly, Snr. prize for History and Social Sciences in 1992. He has been a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

since 1985. In 1993, he was elected to the

20th Seanad The 20th Seanad was in office from 1993 to 1997. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1992 general election to the 27th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 21st S ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

member for the

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constituency.

Works

* Lee, J.J.: ''The Modernisation of Irish Society, 1848–1918'', Clarendon Press (1973), * Lee, J.J.: ''Ireland 1912–1985 - Politics and Society'', Cambridge University Press (1989) * Lee, J.J. & Marion R. Casey: ''Making the Irish American: History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States'',
New York University Press (2006)

References

External links

Text of the introductory address delivered by Professor Dermot Keogh, in University College Cork on 2 June 2006, on the occasion of the conferring of the degree of doctor of literature, ''honoris causa'', on Professor J.J. Lee {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, J. J. 1942 births Living people 20th-century Irish historians 21st-century Irish historians Independent members of Seanad Éireann Members of the Royal Irish Academy Members of the 20th Seanad Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Members of Seanad Éireann for the National University of Ireland Alumni of University College Dublin New York University faculty People from Tralee Academics of University College Cork People educated at Gormanston College