Michael Laffan studied at Gonzaga College, University College Dublin, Trinity Hall Cambridge and the Institute for European History in Mainz. Having lectured briefly at the University of East Anglia he took up a post in UCD, where he taught for over three decades and served in various positions, including as head of the School of History and Archives, before retiring in 2010. He has lectured widely in Ireland and across the globe. From 2010 to 2012 he was president of the Irish Historical Society; he is now an emeritus professor in UCD. He has published widely on Modern Irish History. His writings include The Partition of Ireland 1911-1925 (1983) and The Resurrection of Ireland: the Sinn Féin Party, 1916-1923 (1999), and he has edited The Burden of German History; 1919-1945 (1988).