The Irish Impact: Charting a Course for the Development of Historical Arctic and Northern Studies on the Island of Ireland

As an island nation in the North Atlantic, Ireland’s relative proximity to the Arctic raises the question of whether Ireland can be categorized as an Arctic-adjacent state. In support of this claim, this chapter argues that Irish links to Arctic and Northern areas are underexplored but go back millennia, defining Ireland’s identity in the North and can be utilized towards promoting Ireland’s cultural diplomacy activities with Nordic states. Ireland’s growing interest in the Arctic region can be witnessed through its application for Arctic Council Observer status in December 2020 and the release of Ireland’s Nordic Strategy in June 2021 as part of its Global Ireland foreign policy. This chapter outlines the importance of the creation of the Network of Arctic Researchers Ireland (NARI) in February 2020 as a means for cross-disciplinary Arctic researchers to collaborate and develop new networking opportunities. The authors of this chapter were instrumental in developing the NARI Humanities and Social Science (HSS) Working Group and have organized it into three key research areas, which have a pivotal role in shaping future research outcomes in this multidisciplinary field. The NARI is an important means through which Irish HSS research with Arctic or Northern foci can be highlighted and existing research studies across multiple academic disciplines, including library and information science (LIS), and fields within HSS can be reorganized through the lens of Arctic and Northern studies to produce a more effective way of sharing resources and data while encouraging cross-disciplinary collaboration. This chapter focuses on the development of the Irish Impact project as a mapping exercise within the NARI HSS Working Group that seeks to demonstrate Ireland’s historical, cultural, social, and political ties to the North Atlantic and Arctic regions. Indeed, the Irish Government has outlined the importance of shared cultural heritage in its Strategy and this chapter discusses Ireland’s historical connections to the North and Arctic through two significant eras: (1) the migration of Irish missionaries to Scandinavia in the early Christian era from the fifth through twelfth centuries, with a focus on Norway, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland; and (2) Ireland’s strong Viking heritage because of successive waves of Nordic invasions during the Middle Ages. The Irish Government is already using these two historical themes for cultural engagement and to foster greater diplomatic ties with Nordic countries. However, to further the policy objectives of Ireland’s Nordic Strategy, LIS systems must be further developed, and new research supports installed. The chapter concludes by outlining the importance of creating digital LIS systems towards the emergence of a visible and robust Irish Arctic and Northern studies university program that could meaningfully contribute to current discourse in the field. To further this objective, two projects are proposed: (1) the creation of an Irish Arctic digital library; and (2) the creation of an Irish university consortium for Arctic and Northern studies in HSS with a supporting university database listing Irish and Nordic partner universities involved in HSS research for Arctic and Northern Studies.