New Years Honours: ​Ulster University Emeritus Professor of Politics Henry Patterson has paid tribute to his colleagues, students and the institution after being recognised in the King's New Year Honours list.

He was awarded an OBE for services to education and to peacebuilding in Northern Ireland.

Speaking to the News Letter, he said: “I had the privilege of teaching students from all backgrounds throughout the Troubles and it’s great to see the role of universities and their staff during the conflict recognised.

“I started teaching in the School of Politics, Philosophy and History at the Ulster Polytechnic in 1976.”

Corridor 14G where he was based had “a brilliant group of colleagues including Arthur Aughey, Paul Bew, Paul Arthur, Keith Jeffery, Carmel Roulston and Greta Jones”, he said.

“It also benefited from successive cohorts of lively and intelligent students with very diverse backgrounds and politics. It all worked remarkably well.”

Originally the Ulster Polytechnic, but renamed University of Ulster in 1984, the institution provided the academic with the support necessary to write a string of books on Irish history and politics, starting with ‘Class Conflict and Sectarianism’ about the history of the Protestant working class from 1868 to 1921.

Some of his most noted books were co written with Paul Bew – ‘The State in Northern Ireland 1921-1972’ and ‘Sean Lemass and the Making of Modern Ireland’.

Some of his other notable publications have been ‘Unionism and Orangeism since 1945’ (2007), ‘Ireland since 1939’ (2006),

‘Northern Ireland 1921-2001 Political Forces and Social Classes’ (2002) and the ‘Belfast Labour Movement 1868-1920’ (2020).

His most recent book was ‘Ireland’s Violent Frontier – the Border and Anglo-Irish Relations during the Troubles’, published in 2013.

The ground-breaking book stimulated widespread political discussion and debate about a little considered topic – the IRA's ability to exploit the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and the role of the Irish government in this issue.

The fact of this easy space for the terror group to operate was central to the organisation's capacity to wage its 'Long War' over a quarter of a century.

His book was considered the first to look at the role of the border in sustaining the Provisionals and its central role in Anglo-Irish relations throughout the Troubles.

The OBE is not the first public honour for Prof Patterson.

In August 2020 he was also appointed as a member of the Centenary Historical Advisory Panel established by the secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

At that time Brandon Lewis MP welcomed the then prime minister Boris Johnson’s announcement of plans to establish a Centenary Forum, and a Centenary Historical Advisory Panel as part of the government’s plans to mark 100 years since the creation of Northern Ireland, and the formation of the United Kingdom as it is known today.

The centenary was considered an opportunity to celebrate the people, places and products of Northern Ireland.