Richard Ludlow English (born 1963) is a

Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...

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 species; as well as the ...

and political scientist from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. He was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. He studied as an undergraduate at Keble College,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and subsequently at

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

, where he was awarded a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in History. He was first employed by the Politics Department at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

in 1990 and became a professor in 1999. In 2011, he took up an appointment at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

but five years later returned to Queen's University Belfast as pro-vice chancellor for internationalisation and engagement. His father, Donald English (1930–1998), was a prominent

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

preacher.

Academic research

Most of his research has been centred on the

Irish Republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

movement and particularly the history of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

. His first book, based on his doctoral thesis, concerned the history of post

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

Republican politics and was titled ''Radicals and the Republic, Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free State'' (1994). His next work was a biography of 1920s IRA veteran Ernie O'Malley, entitled ''Ernie O'Malley: IRA Intellectual'' which was published in 1998. Since then, he has written ''Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA'' (2003). This book, predominantly a history of the modern

Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

, won the politics book of the year award from the Political Studies Association and was shortlisted for the

Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize The Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize was created in 1977, in memory of Christopher Ewart-Biggs, British Ambassador to Ireland, who was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provi ...

. After this, he wrote a broader history of

Irish nationalism Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

, ''Irish Freedom, The History of Nationalism in Ireland'' (2006), which won the Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize in 2007. He has also co-edited two volumes: ''The State: Historical and Political Dimensions'' (1999, with Charles Townshend); and ''Rethinking British Decline'' (1999, with Michael Kenny). He is a frequent media commentator on terrorism and Irish politics and history, including work for the BBC, NPR, ''The Times Literary Supplement'', ''Newsweek'', and the ''Financial Times''. In 2009, he published a study of political violence, titled ''Terrorism: How to Respond''. In 2016, he contributed to the documentary film '' Bobby Sands: 66 Days''. In 2017, he delivered the

Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford at the four ancient universities of Scotland: St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Their purpose is to "pro ...

on ''Nationalism, Terrorism and Religion'' at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

Publications

Books

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Edited books

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Honours and awards

In 2015 English was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Richard 1963 births Living people Scholars and academics from Belfast Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Alumni of Keele University 20th-century historians from Northern Ireland Academics of Queen's University Belfast Academics of the University of St Andrews Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize recipients Members of the Royal Irish Academy Male non-fiction writers from Northern Ireland Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Historical Society 21st-century historians from Northern Ireland