What was the man whom Dr. Diarmuid Whelan wrote his doctoral thesis on?
Conor Cruise O'Brien Conor Cruise O'Brien (3 November 1917 – 18 December 2008) often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish politician, writer, historian and academic. His opinion on the role of Britain in Ireland and in Northern Ireland changed during the 1970s, in response to the outbreak of The Troubles. He saw opposing nationalist and unionist traditions as irreconcilable and switched from a nationalist to a unionist view of Irish politics and history. O'Brien's outlook was always radical and the positions he took were seldom orthodox. He summarised his position as intending "to administer an electric shock to the Irish psyche".
Eoin MacNeill Eóin MacNeill (Irish: "Eóin Mac Néill" ; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, nationalist activist, and Sinn Féin politician. MacNeill has been described as "the father of the modern study of early Irish medieval history." A key figure of the Gaelic revival, he was a co-founder of the Gaelic League, to preserve Irish language and culture.