About Niall
Your guide
Niall Cullen, PhD in Contemporary History
Niall Cullen is an Irish historian who has lived in the Basque Country since 2014 and in Vitoria-Gasteiz specifically since 2018.
He is one of a handful of historians writing in English who specialises in contemporary Basque history, Basque nationalism, and the Basque Country’s complex and often turbulent relationship with Spain.
Personal history
I came to the Basque Country from Dublin over ten years ago. I did not plan to stay as long as I have, but this part of the world has a way of holding on to people, especially Irish people it would seem!
During this time, I have had the privilege of getting to know Vitoria-Gasteiz, not as a visitor, but as a resident and a researcher. I have spent years in its archives, walked every nook and cranny of its cobbled streets, and come to understand the city and its history in the kind of detail that only time and curiosity can bring. That is what I try to bring to every tour.
Academic background
Niall holds a PhD in Contemporary History from the University of the Basque Country, where he also worked as a contracted researcher in the Department of Public Law, Historical-Legal Sciences and History of Political Thought. As an expert in contemporary Basque history, he has presented his research at various universities throughout Europe.
He is the author of two books on Basque history published by Routledge, both of which are forthcoming in Spanish translation. For more information on publications, see below.
Routledge, 2026
ETA and the "Basque Problem": The View from London (1968-93)
Rewiews
Niall Cullen has written an authoritative, thoroughly researched account of how UK officials and diplomats increasingly viewed the ‘Basque problem’ to be constituted by ETA terrorism.
– Richard Gillespie, University of Liverpool (emeritus)
This original and timely book sheds new light on how British diplomats interpreted the ‘Basque problem.’ Drawing on rich archival sources, it offers a compelling external perspective on ETA’s campaign of terrorism.
– Diego Muro, University of St Andrews
This remarkable book is a significant contribution not only to the field of intelligence studies, but also to the history of counterterrorism in Spain, the UK, and elsewhere.
– Leyre Santos, University of Oxford
A dispassionate perspective.
– Guy Hedgecoe, The Irish Times
In the summer of 1968, a gunshot fired on the side of a road in Gipuzkoa signalled the arrival of a new and deadly threat: ETA. The organisation would go on to claim the lives of more than 850 people over the next five decades. Drawing on extensive archival research conducted at the UK National Archives, this book examines how “London”—primarily British diplomats in Spain and officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office—perceived ETA’s campaign of violence between 1968 and 1993. In doing so, it offers a rare external perspective on what London frequently referred to as the “Basque problem”, while also shedding light on the relationship between ETA and the IRA, as well as the joint efforts by Madrid and London to confront their shared threat.
Routledge, 2024
Radical Basque Nationalist-Irish Republican Relations: A History
From medieval tales of shared origins to the violent conflicts of the twentieth century, the Basque Country and Ireland have long been linked in popular imagination. Drawing on extensive archival research in Spain, Ireland and the UK, and more than 70 interviews with politicians, former paramilitaries and grassroots activists, this is the first comprehensive study of this mythified transnational relationship.
Reviews
A thoughtful, comparative history of a major subject. A fascinating and valuable book.
– Richard English, Queen’s University Belfast
Cullen has delved into archives, newspapers and various other sources to tell the fascinating story of the relationship between these two political cultures over the last century. An essential work, well-documented and, at the same time, attractive to a wide audience.
– Santiago de Pablo, University of the Basque Country
Distinguishing this analysis are his interviews with political figures, activists, former IRA and ETA members and other confidential sources, offering a trove of revealing anecdotes and a new level of insight.
– Kyle McCreanor, Irish Historical Studies
A timely piece of work, scrupulous in endorsing only facts and analyses for which the author can find first-hand evidence.
– Paddy Woodworth, The Irish Times
Book Chapters
Let us Learn, Basques
Niall Cullen and Ludger Mees, “Let us Learn, Basques”: The Irish Revolution and its Impact in the Basque Country, in Dermot Keogh, Owen McGee, and Mervyn O’Driscoll (eds.), The Irish Revolution: Diplomacy and Reactions 1919-1923 (Cork: Cork University Press, 2025).
Héroes patrios irlandeses y vascos
Niall Cullen, Héroes patrios irlandeses y vascos: Una mirada transnacional, in Ludger Mees (coord.), Heroes y Villanos de la Patria (Madrid: Tecnos, 2020), 93-125.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
No Time for Love
“No Time for Love”: Radical Basque Nationalist-Irish Republican Relations and the Emergence of a Shared Political Culture (1981-98). Araucaria 24, no. 50 (2022): 229-53.
Dangerous Friends
Niall Cullen and Kyle McCreanor, “Dangerous Friends”: Irish Republican Relations with Basque and Catalan Nationalists, 1916-26. The International History Review 44, no. 6 (2022): 1193-210.
Oh Ireland!
“Oh Ireland! What a Disappointment You Have Been to the Basque People”: Irish Non-Intervention in the Spanish Civil War. Society 58, no. 2 (May 2021): 104-11.
Translation and Editing
Niall Cullen, PhD - Academic English Services
Alongside his research, Niall has over a decade of experience as a freelance academic translator and copyeditor. He has translated three books into English, two of them on contemporary Basque history and Basque nationalism, as well as a wide range of other academic works in these fields.