A free public lecture by Dr John Gibney, hosted by the Dublin City Council Heritage Office. Part-funded by the Heritage Council.

About this talk

In 1973 Ireland joined the European Communities. Membership of the EU (as the EC became) is a fact of Irish life 53 years later, but why did we join in in the first place? What objectives was it meant to serve, what obligations were expected to come with it, and what did these have to do with Ireland's place in the world in the decades after the Second World War? Some answers can be found in the archives of the Irish government retained in the National Archives and published in the Royal Irish Academy's Documents on Irish Foreign Policy: this lecture will set out to explore them in order to provide some answers to those questions.

About the speaker

John Gibney is Assistant Editor with the Royal Irish Academy’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy programme and is one of the editors of the ongoing Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series. His books include A short history of Ireland (Yale University Press, 2nd ed. 2025).

About the series

The Dublin City Heritage Talks free public lecture series aims to showcase heritage projects, topics and new research across Dublin city, and is an action of the Dublin City Strategic Heritage Plan 2024 - 2029.

The series has received grant support from the Heritage Council.

This talk will be recorded and made available online at a later date. ISL interpretation will be provided. Please contact us with any other accessibility queries.

Description supplied by the event organiser.