Why are you a historian of Irish politics? 

I grew up in 1970s Belfast, where contested versions of history were literally written on the walls.

What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?

That it is impossible to understand the present without some knowledge of the past.

Which history book has had the greatest influence on you?

Roy Foster’s Modern Ireland 1600-1972.

What book in your field should everyone read?

John Whyte’s Interpreting Northern Ireland. 

Which moment would you most like to go back to?

Peggy Barclay’s Tavern, Belfast, 14 October 1791, at the first meeting of what would become the Society of United Irishmen.

Which historian has had the greatest influence on you?

Seamus Dunn, a valued mentor who died earlier this year.

Which person in history would you most like to have met? 

Gráinne Ni Mháille/Grace O’Malley, the ‘pirate queen’ who went toe to toe with Elizabeth I. 

How many languages do you have?

I’m working at improving my English; my 11-year-old son is helping me with French.

What historical topic have you changed your mind on?

I used to think the history of European institutions was boring. How wrong was I?

What is the most common misconception about your field?

That history is objective. 

Who is the most underrated person in history…

Nikola Tesla.

…and the most overrated?

Winston Churchill, whose limited abilities were masked by being born into power. Boris Johnson is his fitting biographer. 

What’s the most exciting field in history today?

Contemporary political history. 

Is there an important historical text you have not read?

Too many.

What’s your favourite archive?

The Northern Ireland Political Collection, Linen Hall Library Belfast.

What’s the best museum?

The one that hasn’t stolen everyone else’s stuff.  

What technology has changed the world the most?

The internet – not necessarily in a good way.

Recommend us a historical novel...

Milkman by Anna Burns (2018). 

... and a historical drama?

Over The Bridge by Sam Thompson (1960).

What will future generations judge us most harshly for?

Sitting on the sofa watching TV while politicians erode our civil liberties and burn the planet.

Feargal Cochrane is Emeritus Professor of International Conflict Analysis and Senior Research Fellow at the Conflict Analysis Research Centre, University of Kent. He is the author of Belfast: The Story of a City and its People (Yale University Press, 2023).