Department of Justice plans to pay researcher €270k to write a history of its achievements
Darragh Mc Donagh
The Department of Justice, Home Affairs, and Migration is planning to pay a researcher €270,000 to write a history of the department, examining its key achievements over 50 years.
The research will be overseen by an advisory group comprising current or former officials, along with independent experts nominated by the department. It will review chapters and provide periodic support to the researcher.
In a tender published on Wednesday morning, the department said it intends to commission a history of its first 50 years, covering the period between 1918 and 1968, with a view to publishing a book.
It said the project had the potential to make a unique contribution to our shared understanding of the period, “given the vital role played by the department” during the early years of independent Ireland.
The researcher will be tasked with producing a comprehensive written history of the department’s first 50 years, based on a thorough examination of primary source evidence in the department’s files and other identified sources.
It will ensure that all “reasonable” resources are made available to the researcher for this purpose, according to the tender documents. Expenditure on the works covered by the contract may amount to €270,000.
While there is scope for the researcher to shape the overall direction and narrative of the project, the department lists a number of suggested themes that could be examined, including its key policies and achievements during the period.
Other suggested themes include the challenges overcome by the department in maintaining law and order, and establishing key institutions such as An Garda Síochána and a functioning courts system in the Free State.
The advisory group is expected to meet every six months to review chapters and provide periodic support. The researcher will provide project updates at each meeting, and the entire project is expected to take 30 months, leaving six months for review and editing.
The department intends to publish the book once it’s completed, and the researcher may participate in a public lecture, along with presentations to staff at the department.
The tender states that the completed volume should be intelligible to both specialists and the general public, while maintaining the rigor and standards associated with academic research.
The procurement process is being overseen on behalf of the department by Research Ireland, which was established in 2024 following the amalgamation of the Irish Research Council and Science Foundation Ireland.
The deadline for the receipt of tenders is April 10th, and prospective researchers are required to be employed by an eligible research body in Ireland.
