The 1925 Irish Boundary Commission Centenary Conference
To mark the centenary of the Irish Boundary Commission, PRONI will hold an Irish Studies conference on 7 November 2025. The conference will focus on both the 1925 Irish Boundary Commission and the wider topic of the partition of Ireland, its roots and its impact.
Call for Papers/ Gairm ar Pháipéir
On 7 November 1925, near the end of the work of Irish Boundary Commission, the Morning Post published a speculative map of what the Commission was going to recommend in its report to the British, Irish, and Northern Irish governments. Ultimately, the Commission’s recommendations in its report would be dismissed by all governments and its findings unpublished until 1969. However, it was the final confirmation of the Irish boundary line, which would end up shaping the political, social, cultural and economic futures of both states on the island of Ireland.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the Morning Post’s published article, as well as the wider centenary of the Irish Boundary Commission, PRONI will hold an Irish Studies conference. The conference will focus on both the 1925 Irish Boundary Commission and the wider topic of the partition of Ireland, its roots and its impact. The following subjects in Irish Studies are welcome, but they need to directly or indirectly connect to the 1924-5 Irish Boundary Commission or the partition of Ireland itself. These include:
- The Irish Boundary Commission of 1925 – both submissions and the work of the commission
- Impact of the partition of Ireland
- Home Rule crises, War of Irish Independence, Irish Civil War
- Histories of Irish Nationalism & Unionism
- The Irish diaspora, and its influence
- Minorities, languages, and civil rights
- Ireland in art: Thought, Literature, Drama
- Peace Process
- Brexit and Ireland
- Identity, culture, and heritage
- The international community and Ireland
- Multiculturalism in Modern Ireland
- Constitutional Change: The question of Sovereignty and the Irish border
- Religion in Ireland
- Justice vs Peace – the legacy cases of the conflict in Northern Ireland
- The role of women in Irish history
- Commemoration of the centenaries - their impact and the narratives of their legacy
The conference will also see a special PRONI presentation of newly available resources for researchers, a professional panel of leading Irish historians on the decisions of the Irish Boundary Commission of 1924-5, and lastly a book launch. This will be a presentation, a Q&A, and a chance to obtain a copy of Dr Samuel Beckton’s latest work: The Unbroken Covenant: Could Ulster Unionists have controlled a nine-county Northern Ireland, 1920-1945?
Registration
There is no registration fee for the conference. More practical information will be made available along with the final draft of the conference programme in October 2025.
Papers are expected to be 15 minutes. Proposals should have a maximum word count of 300, alongside a short biography of 150 words. Any proposals or queries regarding the conference need to be sent by 1 October 2025 to boundarycommission100@gmail.com. A reply concerning the acceptance of any proposals will be given by 8 October 2025.