Professor Richard Kirkland’s book, Irish London: A Cultural History 1850–1916 has won the British Association for Irish Studies book of the year prize.

Professor Kirkland’s research is focused on the literature, culture, and politics of Ireland in the modern period of contemporary Northern Ireland, during the Irish Literary Revival of the early twentieth century, and in the context of the Irish in London. He has written four monographs and co-edited two collections of essays grouped around these areas.

The chair of this year’s judges, Dr Clíona O Gallchoir, said that ‘like the city itself, Irish London is a richly varied book full of unexpected and fascinating people, places and events. Ambitious in his aim to create a cultural history of an often elusive population that cannot be tied to any single narrative of immigrant experience, Kirkland draws on a wide range of primary sources from newspapers to paintings, and deftly synthesises a large body of scholarly research to offer the reader a wonderfully immersive insight into the history of an often overlooked but vital aspect of the story of Ireland and the story of London.’

The British Association for Irish Studies is a charitable organisation that was established in 1985. Its aim is to encourage and support Irish cultural activities, and the study of Ireland and Irish culture, in Britain.