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) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one o ...

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 research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

Biography

Born in

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

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, he spent his early years in Castlegregory in the same county. He also lived for some years in

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. 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-ce ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

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

Galway County Council Galway County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe) is the authority responsible for local government in County Galway, 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,

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

. He graduated in 1962 from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

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 constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

. 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 and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

/ Irish Life'' Prize for History in 1991; and both the

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiar ...

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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; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...

since 1985. In 1993, he was elected to the 20th Seanad 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 the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

member for the

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...

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, John Joseph 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