President Michael D Higgins sparked a debate recently with his sharp critique of British imperialism. In a piece for the Guardian, he accused some academics and journalists of a "feigned amnesia" and a failure to address Britain's imperialist legacy, especially when compared to Ireland's reflections on nationalism, the war of independence and partition a century ago. In today's podcast, Hugh talks to Erasmus Smyth professor of modern history at Trinity College Dublin, Jane Ohlmeyer, about what exactly imperialism is and what its contemporary legacy might be.

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