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Introduction: Shared Histories

The relationship between the two islands of Great Britain and Ireland has a long, complex and compelling history. Given their geographical proximity and shared language one key dimension of this relationship and its complex history has been the connections and interactions between the various media of communication—print and electronic— that have, over the centuries, mediated this connection through times of union, separation, harmony and conflict. The articles in this double special issue stem from the ‘Shared Histories: Media Connections Between Britain and Ireland’ conference held in 2016. The conference, hosted by the National Library of Ireland, was organised by the School of Communications Dublin City University, the Centre for Media History Aberystwyth University, the Newspaper & Periodical History Forum of Ireland, and this journal, Media History. At a timely moment in the history of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, over two days a multitude of panels discussed the different kinds of media that have informed the relationship between the two islands and considered under what conditions various media operated and to what, if any, effect. Taking the long view as well as looking in detail at particular inflection points, the conference examined how the development of relationships between the peoples of the two islands have been influenced by shared histories of media exchange and interaction. This double special issue draws together a considerable number of papers from the conference and examines the role that media played in the formation of identity and the impact that, at different times, various forms of media—newsbooks, the telegraph, radio, television, cinema—have had on mediating, reflecting and challenging the relationship between both islands. In a similar vein, it examines how media organisations and media professionals operated at times of conflict and contestation as well as at times of friendship and professional co-operation. It remains only for the conference organisers, Mark O’Brien, Tom O’Malley and Siân Nicholas, to thank those who participated in the conference and this special edition.