INSPIRING ROLE MODELS: ---- Who are Mine?
Over 40 years research/writing in Contemporary History and Politics, I have appreciated the works of various scholars and writers. Many names trip off the tongue; including Andrew Roberts, Tom Nossiter, Brendan O’Leary, Cornelius O’Leary, Paul Bew, ATQ Stewart, George Pryde, David Marsland, Stephen Haseler, Anthony Seldon, Wilson McLeod, Ken MacKinnon, Jack Brand, Hugo Young, Dennis Kavanagh, James Mitchell, Ambrose Macaulay, Anthony Crossland, Michael Foot, Ian Gilmour, Quintan Hogg, Michael Meadowcroft, David Marquand, Ian Kershaw, Jim Kellas, Roy Jenkins, Max Hastings, Montgomery Hyde, Enoch Powell, JH Whyte and Anthony Howard. Those are among the distinguished names coming to mind, but there are many others. Also, it is important to recognise that they were/are all English, Scottish and Irish history and political specialists. There are European, Asian and American specialists, plus Church historians, who also made a positive impact on me.
Last year (2020), my old school friend, Professor Brendan O’Leary, related an occasion when asked to nominate his six favourite writers. Quite an awesome task, to which no doubt Brendan applied the full rigours of his scholarly judgement! Indeed that chat set me thinking! Who were my most admired ‘heavyweights’? Actually, naming them was an easier task than I imagined, because for several years in my inner consciousness I was aware of two key role models, both of whose names sprang to mind without hesitation. Hence for the first time ever, I share with folk on the outside the identities of my two intellectual ‘heroes’.
1. Professor/Lord Peter Hennessy – Professor of Contemporary History at Queen Mary College, London; Fellow of Royal Society of Arts and British Academy; Co-Founder of Institute of Contemporary British History; former Times, Economist and Financial Times journalist; oft-times BBC broadcaster and presenter; author of several books on British political system, crowned by his award-winning 3-part volume on Post-War Britain. Hennessy’s writings reflect the epitome of a mercurial British scholar in being factual, meticulously researched, and balanced between voluminous knowledge and incisive analysis …. All those things they certainly are, but with an added bonus! The former journalist in Peter gives him an upper hand in communications that make his books and articles, along with lectures and broadcasts, a sheer joy to read and hear.
2. Professor/Sir Thomas Devine – Emeritus Professor of Scottish History at University of Edinburgh; formerly Research Professor of Scottish and Irish Studies at University of Aberdeen; Fellow of Royal Society of Edinburgh and British Academy; Winner of Scotland’s premier academic accolade, the 2001 Royal Medal, and subsequently a Knighthood, both conferred by HM The Queen. Also, as author of no less than 30 scholarly histories of everything ranging from Empire and Scottish Religious Developments to Highland Clearances and Scotland’s Industrial Revolution to the Scottish Diaspora; Tom Devine is, quite properly, recognised as Scotland’s greatest living historian. For me, his finest work is The Scottish Nation 1700-2007 (Penguin, 2006); a definitive treatise on Scotland’s emergence from past struggles over its pre-Union social system, questions of sovereignty, agrarian economy and Church affairs to urban nationhood and a troubled partnership with England over recent times.
In passing, may I add that it is a rare honour - for any of us - to enjoy the friendship of one’s role models. Well, actually, such has been my good fortune with Peter for over thirty years, and Tom more recently. With each of them, I have encountered help, positive guidance, clear direction, encouragement and an abundance of good will. As a result, I can honestly say that in my dealings with Peter and Tom, not only have I come to appreciate their qualities as leading scholars, but also the kindness and sheer decency of two perfect gentlemen.
May Almighty God be thanked for the gift of these two eminent historians to our world, where hopefully nudges of their wisdom may have rubbed off on me – a mere grass-hopper! Most importantly, I hope to share those intellectual riches with the many students and professional clients of Lagan, to everyone’s benefit.
Spoken straight from the heart!
Dr Vincent McKee – Principal.
Coventry, 12th October, 2021.
