UWG News Archive

UWG Professor's book awarded

May 16, 2005

CARROLLTON, GA - Dr. Michael de Nie, assistant professor of history at the University of West Georgia, has been awarded the 2005 James S. Donnelly Sr. Prize for Books on History and Social Sciences by the American Conference for Irish Studies (ACIS) for his first book, The Eternal Paddy: Irish Identity and the British Press, 1798-1882.

The Donnelly Prize is awarded annually for the best book in history and social sciences submitted to the ACIS, which is the principal scholarly organization for Irish studies. The group is comprised of about 1,500 members worldwide.

De Nie’s book, which draws on more than 90 newspapers in England, Scotland and Wales, is the first major detailed analysis of British press coverage of Ireland over the course of the 19th century.

Focusing on the interrelationships between the press, the public and politicians, the book traces the evolution of popular understandings of and proposed solutions to the “Irish question.” It also explores the role of Catholic Ireland in British perceptions of their own identity and their empire.

De Nie, who teaches courses on world history, Britain, Ireland and Europe in the 19th century, has a special interest in the way that stereotypes and preconceptions influence both press reporting and government policy.

“I am fascinated by the way in which newspapers both reflected and reinforced certain prejudices and how these prejudices then contributed to popular understandings of the ‘Irish question’ and how it should be addressed by the government,” he stated. “I look at how the press and its readers constructed their vision of Ireland and the Irish as well as how these popular perceptions were then reflected in government policy.”

The Eternal Paddy: Irish Identity and the British Press, 1798-1882 is published by the University of Wisconsin Press and is available on Amazon.com.

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