Projects per year
Personal profile
Interests
Peter Gray took his undergraduate and doctoral degrees at the University of Cambridge before holding research fellowships at the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen's, and at Downing College, Cambridge. He taught Irish and British history at the University of Southampton 1996-2005, before returning to Belfast to take up the positions of Professor of Modern Irish History and Director of Research in Irish and British History at QUB. In 2004 Professor Gray was the Burns Library Visiting Professor in Irish Studies at Boston College, MA, was Eaton visiting fellow at the University of New Brunswick in 2015 and O'Donnell Fellow in Irish Studies at the University of Melbourne in 2023. He was chair of the Royal Irish Academy's National Committee for the Historical Sciences 2007-10, and is a member of the editorial board of Irish Historical Studies. He was Head of the School of History and Anthropology 2010-15 and is has been Director of the Institute of Irish Studies at QUB since 2016.
Research Statement
Professor Gray's research specializes in the history of British-Irish relations c.1800-70, especially the political history of the Great Famine of 1845-50 and the politics of poverty and land in the nineteenth century. He has interests in the history of 19th-century political economy and social thought, in comparative imperial history (especially 19th-century Ireland and India), in historical memory and commemoration, and in the history of the Irish lord lieutenancy. He directed the EPPI project to digitise Parliamentary Papers relating to Ireland 1800-1922, and was PI on the AHRC-funded research project 'Welfare and Public Health in Belfast and the north of Ireland, c.1800-1973'. He has recently completed a biography of the Ulster Radical William Sharman Crawford (1780-1861).
Teaching
Professor Peter Gray teaches on the following programmes / modules:
Undergraduate
Politics and Society in 19th Century Ireland (HIS2011) | Politics and Society in Nineteenth-Century Ireland |
'The Vast Catastrophe': The Great Famine of the 1840s (HIS3033) | The Vast Catastrophe: The Irish Famine |
Postgraduate
MHY7081 | Topics in Irish History |
IRS7011 | Belfast: Place, Identity and Memory in a Contested City |
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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R1047HIS: Welfare and public health in Belfast and the north of Ireland 1800 -1973
Gray, P., Atcheson, R., Laragy, G., Lucey, S., Purdue, O. & Purdue, O.
01/08/2011 → 31/10/2015
Project: Research
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The Making of the Irish Poor Law, 1815-43
Gray, P., Apr 2009, Manchester University Press. 380 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Was the Great Irish Famine a Colonial Famine?
Gray, P., 28 Apr 2021, In: East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies. 8, 1, p. 159-172Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile164 Downloads (Pure) -
The Great Irish Famine and Social Class: Conflicts, Responsibilities, Representations
Gray, P. (ed.) & Corporaal, M. (ed.), 2019, Oxford: Peter Lang. 311 p. (Reimagining Ireland; vol. 89)Research output: Book/Report › Book
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HB’s Famine cartoons: satirical art in a time of catastrophe
Gray, P., 30 Nov 2018, The Great Irish Famine: Visual and Material Culture . Corporaal, M., Frawley, O. & Mark-Fitzgerald, E. (eds.). Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, p. 35-52 18 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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The Great Famine, 1845-1850
Gray, P., 26 Apr 2018, Cambridge History of Ireland, Volume 3, 1730-1880. Kelly, J. (ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Vol. 3. p. 639-665 26 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
Prizes
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Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Gray, Peter (Recipient), 01 Sep 2005
Prize: Election to learned society
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Member of the Royal Irish Academy
Gray, Peter (Recipient), 01 May 2013
Prize: Election to learned society
Activities
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Chair, National Committee for Historical Sciences, Royal Irish Academy
Peter Gray (Chair)
2007 → 2010Activity: Consultancy types › Contribution to the work of national or international committees and working groups
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The Tenant League and the Irish Famine, 1847-55
Peter Gray (Advisor)
14 Apr 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Society for the Study of 19th Century Ireland Annual Lecture
Peter Gray (Advisor)
28 Feb 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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University of Melbourne
Peter Gray (Advisor)
03 Jan 2023 → 11 Feb 2023Activity: Visiting an external institution types › Visiting an external academic institution
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PhD Defence Panel Member, EPHE Paris
Peter Gray (Examiner)
13 Jun 2022Activity: Examination types › PhD external examination