Paul Bew, Baron Bew
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Paul Anthony Elliott Bew, Baron Bew (born 22 January 1950), is a British historian 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 ...
and a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
. He has worked 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 ...
since 1979, and is currently Professor of Irish Politics, a position he has held since 1991.


Early life and education

Bew was born on 22 January 1950 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 was educated at Brackenber House School, and
Campbell College Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a ...
, a
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
in Belfast. He studied for his BA and PhD at
Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...
. His
doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
was titled "The Politics of the Irish Land War, 1879-1882".


Academic career

His first book, ''Land and the National Question in Ireland, 1858–82'' was a revisionist study that challenged nationalist
historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...
by examining the clash between landowners and tenants as well as the conflict between large and small tenants. His third book, a short study of
Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1875 to 1891, Leader of the Home Rule Leag ...
published in 1980, challenged some of the arguments of the award-winning 1977 biography of Parnell by F. S. L. Lyons, though Lyons, one of the "doyens" of modern Irish history, acknowledged the younger historian's arguments by stating that "Nothing Dr Bew writes is without interest." Bew's central thesis was that Parnell was a fundamentally conservative figure whose ultimate aim was to secure a continuing position of leadership for the Protestant gentry in a Home Rule Ireland. In 2007,
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
published Bew's ''Ireland: The Politics of Enmity 1789–2006'', which forms part of the ''Oxford History of Modern Europe'' series. The book received positive reviews. Bew acted as a historical advisor to the Bloody Sunday Inquiry between 1998 and 2001. Bew was also involved in the Belfast Project, a
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
initiative to record interviews with former participants in
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
, including former republican and loyalist paramilitaries. In 2014,
Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...
criticised Bew's handling of the Boston College project, as well as the journalist Ed Moloney and the former IRA volunteer Anthony McIntyre." Adams claimed Bew had deliberately chosen Moloney and McIntyre because they were unsympathetic to Adams. Bew expressed regret over the closure of the project, and stated further oral history projects of the Troubles were now "under a cloud".


Political involvement

Bew's political stance has changed over the years. In a 2004 interview for ''The Guardian'', he stated that "While my language was more obviously
leftwing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...
in the 1970s than today, that sympathy has always been there". As a young man, Bew participated in the People's Democracy marches. Bew was briefly a member of a group called the British and Irish Communist Organisation, which advocated the two nations theory of Northern Ireland. Bew was also a member of the
Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
, then known as Official Sinn Féin. From 1991 to 1993, he served as President of The Irish Association for Cultural, Economic and Social Relations. Bew is a unionist, and in 2019 called for the British government to do more to champion the union and recommended introducing a Department of the Union. He served as an "informal adviser" to
David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002 and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 20 ...
. Trimble and Bew are both signatories to the statement of principles of the Henry Jackson Society, which has been characterised as a neoconservative organisation.


House of Lords

In 2007, Bew was selected by the independent House of Lords Appointments Commission to be made a
member of the House of Lords This is a list of current members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Current sitting members Lords Spiritual Twenty-six bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords: the Archbishops ...
. His contributions to the
Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
process were acknowledged with an appointment. He was created Baron Bew, ''of Donegore in the County of Antrim'' on 26 March 2007, and sits in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
as a
crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...
. He was introduced to the Lords on 15 May 2007, supported by Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve (a fellow academic and crossbencher) and Lord Trimble (i.e. his friend David Trimble). He made his
maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...
on 23 July 2007 during a debate on political donations in Northern Ireland. Lord Bew was Chair of the
Committee on Standards in Public Life The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government, established by John Major in 1994 to advise the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister on ethical standard ...
, an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government, from September 2013 to August 2018. In October 2018, he was appointed as Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission for a five-year term starting on 1 November 2018. He was succeeded by Baroness Deech on 26 October 2023.


Personal life

Bew is married to Greta Jones, a history professor at the
University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...
, with whom he has one son, John Bew, who is professor of history at the
Department of War Studies, King's College London The Department of War Studies (DWS) is an academic department in the School of Security Studies within the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy at King's College London in London, United Kingdom. Senior government officials, members of t ...
.


Bibliography


Monographs

* * * * (with Henry Patterson) * (with Henry Patterson) * * (with Henry Patterson and Ellen Hazelkorn) * * * * * (with Gordon Gillespie) * * * *


Articles

*


See also

* List of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Lords


References


External links


Paul Bew's homepage at Queen's University Belfast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bew, Paul 1950 births Academics of Queen's University Belfast Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Political scientists from Northern Ireland Civil rights activists from Northern Ireland Crossbench life peers Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge Former Marxists Historians from Northern Ireland Historians of the Land War Life peers created by Elizabeth II Living people Male non-fiction writers from Northern Ireland Member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life People educated at Campbell College Scholars and academics from Belfast Peers recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission Workers' Party (Ireland) politicians