Richard Ludlow English (born 1963) is a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

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 stu ...

and political scientist from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. He studied as an undergraduate at

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and subsequently at

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

, where he was awarded a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

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

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

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

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

but five years later returned 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 group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

preacher.

Academic research

Most of his research has been centred on the

Irish Republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

movement and particularly the history of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

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

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 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 ...

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 Ernest Bernard Malley ( ga, Earnán Ó Máille; 26 May 1897 – 25 March 1957) was an IRA officer during the Irish War of Independence. Subsequently, he became assistant chief of staff of the Anti-Treaty IRA during the Irish Civil War. 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 Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

, won the politics book of the year award from the Political Studies Association and was shortlisted for the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize. After this, he wrote a broader history of Irish nationalism, ''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''.

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 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 established i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Richard 1963 births Living people Writers from Belfast Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Alumni of Keele University 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