"irish" blog posts
Investigating Medieval Irish Records
This month, June 2022, is the 100-year anniversary of the gelignite explosion at the Record Treasury in the Four Courts, Dublin during the Irish Civil War. Thousands of manuscripts and documents from seven centuries of Irish history were destroyed. A very few survived on the day. But others survived by being held in other locations. Here, Dr Stephen Hewer of the Institute of Irish Studies discusses one such manuscript.
Posted on: 23 June 2022
Beyond Exclusion in Medieval Ireland
The Institute of Irish Studies’ Leverhulme Fellow, Dr Stephen Hewer, recently published a book on the legal status of different groups in medieval Ireland. The Institute hosted a book launch on 16 March. Here, he details the processes of making the book and some of the major findings.
Posted on: 28 April 2022
A Brief History of St Patrick's Day
St Patrick’s Day (17th March) is a global celebration and also a big event in the social calendar of the city of Liverpool with three quarters of the city’s population claiming Irish ancestry. The event is popularly associated with wearing green and drinking Guinness, but what would the real St Patrick have thought of all this?
Posted on: 16 March 2022
'The Singer's House' by Seamus Heaney - Poetry Day Ireland
In this video, Prof Frank Shovlin explains his close connection to 'The Singer's House' by Seamus Heaney and reads this wistful poem for Poetry Day Ireland.
Posted on: 2 May 2019
Highlights from our Prince of Wales and President of Ireland visit!
We were excited to welcome the Prince of Wales and President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins to the Victoria Gallery and Museum on campus this week, to sign a joint patronage agreement for the Insititute. Before the signing, they were happy to meet the crowds waiting outside, as well as chatting to staff, students, alumni and many more guests inside the gallery.
Posted on: 14 February 2019
Bertie Ahern on the Good Friday Agreement, Brexit and a United Ireland
Following the 11th Dr John Kennedy CBE KSG KCMCO DL DHI Lecture in Irish Studies given by Bertie Ahern, we sat down with the former Taoiseach to discuss the Good Friday Agreement, the impact of Brexit on relations between Ireland and the UK, and the prospect of a United Ireland.
Posted on: 20 December 2018
"I will look back on it as a watershed moment in my life" — Institute of Irish Studies MA student Ronan Gerrard interns with The London Magazine
Before Ronan Gerrard graduated from the University of Liverpool with a joint degree in English and Irish Studies in summer 2018, he benefited from two weeks of work experience at Britain’s oldest literary periodical, The London Magazine. In their long history stretching back as far as 1732, the magazine has boasted contributions from the Romantic poets Shelley and Keats to 20th century masters such as Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath. Discover some of Ronan's experiences of working with the publication.
Posted on: 25 October 2018
Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonald: "Brexit and the Good Friday Agreement are incompatible"
Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonald talks reconciliation, Brexit and what the ‘Repeal the Eighth’ result says to the world about modern Ireland, in this video interview, ahead of her keynote speech at the University.
Posted on: 9 October 2018
Refugees and forced displacement in Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles
My research, funded by the 2017/18 Busteed Postdoctoral Scholarship at the Institute of Irish Studies, sheds light on the often-overlooked experiences of people who suffered displacement during the Northern Ireland conflict.
Posted on: 2 October 2018
Searching for Gerard Keenan
Kavanagh’s Weekly is arguably the closest literary approximation to a barroom brawl ever put to print. When I first saw the name of Gerard Keenan in its pages, the feeling was akin to the sensation of the corner-eye-sighting of a reflection in a dusty mirror.
Posted on: 10 July 2018
Oklahoma, James Joyce and 'The Book of Days'
16 June is Bloomsday, celebrating 16 June 1904, the date depicted in James Joyce’s novel, 'Ulysses'. PhD student, Liss Farrell is researching the brother relationship in James Joyce’s 'Finnegans Wake'. Interested in the interplay between Joyce’s real-life relationship with his brother Stanislaus and the Wake, Liss travelled to the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma to read his diary: ‘The Book of Days’.
Posted on: 14 June 2018
Four things to see and do in Liverpool if you're interested in Irish history and culture
With Summer now upon us, you might be looking for things to do in Merseyside before the start of the new term (trust us, this will come around very quickly!). While teaching may be over until September, there’s still plenty of things to see and do in Liverpool if you're interested in Irish history and culture - from museum trails to live poetry:
Posted on: 11 June 2018