Irish Studies at Queen's University Belfast - QUB

Queen's Co-Hosts Major Conferences with the University of Notre Dame Queen's recently co-hosted two international Conferences in Belfast with the University of Notre Dame.

Our 2024 Summer School off to a flying start with Dom Bryan’s notorious Norn Iron quiz

CFP: Sustainability in Irish Culture – Special Issue –
American Journal of Irish Studies

Thanks to everybody who participated in our academic programme for 2023-24. Recordings are available on our new Youtube Channel at

QUB Irish Studies Posting talks, public lectures and other events given at the Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University Belfast.

We're thrilled to celebrate the opening of the new Seamus Heaney Centre next week, Tuesday 18th June, 7:30pm, with a dramatic reading of Seamus Heaney's literary pilgrimage in the Wolfson Lecture Theatre.

Under the direction of the Lyric’s Executive Producer Jimmy Fay, this dynamic performance melds the spoken word, film, and sound to evoke the poet’s process of self-examination. Steeped in ritual, memory, and ghostly visions, this work explores Heaney's complex relationship with his homeland, his faith and the past.

Composers and performers Paul Stapleton and Steve Davis will provide a unique improvised musical interpretation of the text, as Seamus O’Hara (Oscar-winning, An Irish Goodbye) delivers a dramatic reading of the poem.

Our colleagues at the Notre Dame
Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies
have released a recording of a event in honour of Prof Roy Foster from earlier this year:

Perspectives: Roy Foster in Conversation with Fintan O’Toole Held at the University of Notre Dame's London Global GatewayMonday, January 8, 2024

A recording of this week's QUB Irish Studies International Lecture, by Mike O'Malley on 'Policing and the construction of Irish culture: the case of Captain O’Neill' is now available at:

Irish Studies Lecture: Michael O'Malley Prof Michael O'Malley (George Mason University), 'Policing and the construction of Irish culture: the case of Captain O’Neill' (4/6/24)Michael O'Malley is Pr...

Folks interested in our Irish Studies lecture on 4 June may also want to look at Michael O'Malley's companion website to his biography of Francis O'Neill, at https://thebeatcop.com/page/index The site contains links to recordings from O'Neill's collections of Irish traditional music.
Register for the lecture at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/irish-studies-international-lecture-michael-omalley-tickets-901520551237

companion website: companion website This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page. companion website Main Menu Introduction biography Context: The industrial city and the police The Music Community Legacies A Poet's Take Illustrations Additional photos not included in the published book Un...

📣The Institute of Irish Studies International Lecture is TOMORROW!

Join Professor Michael O’Malley for: ‘Policing and the Construction of Irish Culture: The Case of Captain O’Neill’

📅04/06, 5pm
🏛️Council Chamber & Online

Register 👉https://ow.ly/slbv50RSlGE..

Conference - The Future of Irish Studies

Co-hosted by The Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies (Notre Dame), The Institute of Irish Studies (QUB), and The Mitchell Institute

📅12/06, 9am – 4.45pm
🏛️Larmor Lecture Theatre

Register 👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-future-of-irish-studies-tickets-902254516547

Gerald Dawe, poet of ‘the ordinary and the everyday’, dies aged 72 Inaugural director of TCD’s Oscar Wilde Centre was to receive major US award

There's still a chance to get your ticket to the annual International Irish Studies lecture on June 4th.

This year's lecture, 'Policing and the Construction of Irish Culture: The Case of Captain O'Neill', explores the significance of an Irish immigrant who rose to become Chief of Chicago Police while defining and collecting Irish folk music.

Register now.

https://ow.ly/sV5A50RY6hF

Our annual International Irish Studies Lecture will be given on 4 June by Michael O’Malley (GMU) on ‘Policing and the Construction of Irish Culture: The Case of Captain O’Neill’ (in person and online).

Prof O’Malley’s book The Beat Cop (2023) is a biography of Francis O'Neill (1848-1936), an Irish immigrant who rose to be chief of the Chicago Police and who was obsessed with defining and collecting Irish folk music. The book discusses political authority and culture-making in the Irish diaspora. This lecture will explore the significance of O'Neill in accumulating and promoting Irish traditional music, and how this related to his role as a police officer.

Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/irish-studies-international-lecture-michael-omalley-tickets-901520551237

The National Library of Ireland’s annual Studentship programmes are now open for applications for 2024-2025. We are delighted to be able to offer:

⭐ Library Studentship: In association with the Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) programme, School of Information and Communication Studies, University College Dublin, the NLI is offering a one-year Library Studentship for a graduate who wishes to gain experience of working in a library in advance of undertaking a postgraduate course in librarianship.

⭐ Archival Studentship: In association with the UCD School of History, the NLI is offering a one-year Archival Studentship for a graduate who wishes to gain experience of archival work prior to applying for the MA (Archives and Records Management) to commence in Autumn 2025.

⭐ Research Studentship: In association with the Irish Committee of Historical Sciences (ICHS), the NLI is offering a one-year Research Studentship for advanced graduate students (at least second year) or post-doctoral students of Irish history. This Studentship is designed to enable a student to undertake intensive study of a selected manuscript collection or collections which they might use as a major source in a post-graduate or post-doctoral research programme.

👉 More information about all three Studentships, and how to apply: https://www.nli.ie/about-us/working-national-library-ireland

📆 Please note that the deadline for applications is 3pm on Wednesday 26 June, 2024.

An Irishman Chained to the Truth Brian Desmond Hurst was the most prolific Irish film director of the 20th century - Allan Smith delves into his family history to find out more about his great great uncle Brian's adventures in Hollywood.

Congrats to Sarah Roddy and team on the launch of the PARISH project website

PARISH A collaborative history and heritage project creating a digitised, fully searchable record of Irish church interiors.

On the 50th anniversary of its collapse, The Linen Hall reflects on the failure of the Sunningdale Agreement, a pivotal moment in Northern Ireland's history.

Journalist and broadcaster Mark Simpson will be in conversation with Dermot Nesbitt, Brian Faulkner's election agent and a key member of the Ulster Unionist Party's negotiation team during the Stormont talks that paved the way for the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, and Senator Emer Currie, Seanad Spokesperson for Northern Ireland, Special Education, and Inclusion, and daughter of Austin Currie, a minister in the executive during that time.

📅 Tuesday 28 May, 1 pm
🔗https://linenhall.com/event/the-sunningdale-agreement/

The Royal Irish Academy is hosting a conference on Archives, Access & Human Rights on 13 June

Archives, Access & Human Rights A one-day conference exploring public and private archives in Ireland

If you missed Huw Bennett's seminar on Monday talking about his new book 'Uncivil War: The British Army and the Troubles, 1966-75', a recording is now available at:

Irish Studies Seminar: Huw Bennett, 'Uncivil War' Dr Huw Bennett (Cardiff University): 'Uncivil War: the British Army and the Troubles, 1966-1975' (13/5/24).Dr Huw Bennett is Reader in International Relation...

The Future of Irish Studies Co-hosted by The Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, Notre Dame, The Institute of Irish Studies, QUB, and The Mitchell Institute.

Join us on 12 June for a symposium on 'The Future of Irish Studies', co-hosted with the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, Notre Dame, The Institute of Irish Studies, QUB, and The Mitchell Institute. This is a free event, in-person and online, with speakers from Ireland, the UK, North America, Australia and Europe. Register at Eventbrite.

The Future of Irish Studies Co-hosted by The Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, Notre Dame, The Institute of Irish Studies, QUB, and The Mitchell Institute.

Our colleague Gordon Gillespie interviewed for Donald Clark’s piece on the 1974 UWC strike: ‘For a few weeks, the reliable machinery of suburban life shut down. There was no milk, no petrol, often no electricity’

‘For a few weeks, the reliable machinery of suburban life shut down. There was no milk, no petrol, often no electricity’ During the dramatic two-week Ulster Workers’ Council strike in 1974, there was a sense of societal collapse