In September 2011, The School of Histories and Humanities at Trinity College Dublin began a new Masters programme: Public History and Cultural Heritage. It should give a ‘thorough grounding in public history, providing students with unique preparation for the management of cultural heritage’.

This reflects the increasing importance of history, heritage and culture to the Irish economy as a whole. The course considers cultural memory (its construction, reception and loss), public status of history in modern society and examines political issues surrounding public commemoration and ‘sites of memory’ (museums, archives, galleries and the media) as public perceptions of the past are shaped.

It'll also study conservation, presentation and communication of physical past heritage, especially where interpretation and meaning ‘are contested’. To those opposed to such academic yet practical subjects, it will seem pointless. How can the past help the present and future in any meaningful economic way?