"study" blog posts

Watch the second Annual Seamus Heaney LectureProfessor Peter Shirlow, Sinead Cusack at the second annual Seamus Heaney lecture

Watch the second Annual Seamus Heaney Lecture

On Thursday 18 November 2021 the Institute of Irish Studies welcomed Professor Roy Foster (Emeritus Professor of Irish History, University of Oxford, and author of On Seamus Heaney) to deliver the second Annual Seamus Heaney Lecture

Posted on: 17 December 2021

Exiled Women – English and Irish nuns at home and awayPainting of a group of people

Exiled Women – English and Irish nuns at home and away

In seventeenth century England, Catholicism was outlawed across the land, punishable by heavy fines, imprisonment, and sometimes execution. Ireland (then under English rule) had just concluded the Nine Year’s War that effectively ended the Gaelic political systems that had survived for centuries, with greater plantation of Protestant settlers to follow.

Posted on: 23 March 2021

‘2020 has given us a new perspective. We need hope’ — the world and home with artist Paul DoranArtist Paul Doran standing in front of some artwork

‘2020 has given us a new perspective. We need hope’ — the world and home with artist Paul Doran

This month, Outreach Officer Maev McDaid met with Irish artist Paul Doran, who is enjoying great success with his contemporary abstract art exhibitions.

Posted on: 18 September 2020

Revisit the Great Famine Voices RoadshowGreat Famine Voices Roadshow

Revisit the Great Famine Voices Roadshow

The Institute of Irish Studies was delighted to co-host the Great Famine Voices Roadshow Liverpool on Saturday 2 May with the Irish National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park and Irish Heritage Trust, supported by our partners Liverpool Irish Festival and the Liverpool Great Hunger Commemoration Committee.

Posted on: 5 May 2020

The Best Irish Studies Podcasts to Listen to Right NowPerson with headphones in subway

The Best Irish Studies Podcasts to Listen to Right Now

Looking for a way to learn on the go? Maybe you need a break from reading or you just can’t take sitting at a desk all day. That’s where podcasts come in. An entertaining yet informative way of learning is right at your fingertips. Pick up your phone and choose from the list below of Irish Studies podcasts you just can’t miss.

Posted on: 6 March 2020

Watch: Mary Robinson discusses women's leadership and climate changeMary Robinson giving a lecture

Watch: Mary Robinson discusses women's leadership and climate change

Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson spoke about women’s leadership and climate change at a special event organised by the London Irish Lawyers Association in association with the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Irish Studies.

Posted on: 23 January 2020

Our top revision tips for exam season Student reading book in library.

Our top revision tips for exam season

It’s that time of year again. But you’ve got this. Deep breath.

Posted on: 6 January 2020

How the Institute’s “Agreement” exhibition came about (Ken Bartley, ArtisAnn Gallery)

How the Institute’s “Agreement” exhibition came about (Ken Bartley, ArtisAnn Gallery)

As all good winter’s tales begin... it was a crisp, frosty Christmas Eve when I bumped into old friend and colleague Prof Pete Shirlow, Director of The Institute of Irish Studies, as he strolled along Belfast’s Ormeau Road. Since our days, many years ago, working at Queen’s University, Pete was now running a major “Arts for Reconciliation” research project, while I was the co-owner of the ArtisAnn contemporary art gallery in Belfast. We chatted about the potential for an exhibition to mark 20 years of peace in Northern Ireland since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

Posted on: 29 November 2019

Watch the Inaugural Seamus Heaney Lecture

Watch the Inaugural Seamus Heaney Lecture

On Thursday 17 October 2019 the Institute of Irish Studies welcomed Professor Louise Richardson (Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford) to deliver the inaugural Seamus Heaney Lecture. The event was introduced with a recital of Seamus Heaney's poetry by Adrian Dunbar (actor, screenwriter and director).

Posted on: 31 October 2019

Professor Frank Shovlin visits the University of Notre Dame, USA

Professor Frank Shovlin visits the University of Notre Dame, USA

Professor Frank Shovlin writes about his recent visiting fellowship to the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA.

Posted on: 15 October 2019

Viking Wirral on Wheels Bike Tour

Viking Wirral on Wheels Bike Tour

The ‘Viking Wirral on Wheels’ cycle tour was the brainchild of Craig Pennington, organiser of the Future Yard music festival at Birkenhead in August 2019 and Don Maclean of Ryde bicycle cafe in Liverpool. Dr Clare Downham provides an overview of the day.

Posted on: 16 September 2019

Five things to do during Welcome WeekLiverpool skyline - photo by Charles Pragnell from Pexels

Five things to do during Welcome Week

Welcome Week kicks off on Monday, giving new students the opportunity to get to know their new flatmates, explore Liverpool and settle in before they start lectures. Take a look at our top five tips to help you get started with university life.

Posted on: 13 September 2019

Women and military power in the tenth century

Women and military power in the tenth century

In Game of Thrones and Vikings, viewers have seen representations of women warriors and military leaders in medievalesque settings, but how accurate is this a reflection of women in the past? Dr Clare Downham from the Institute of Irish Studies explains.

Posted on: 30 May 2019

'The Singer's House' by Seamus Heaney - Poetry Day IrelandFrank Shovlin

'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!Prince of Wales meeting the crowd

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 IrelandBertie Ahern

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

Irish Studies students visit Western Approaches War MuseumWestern Approaches visit

Irish Studies students visit Western Approaches War Museum

On 5 December, students in Dr. Arrington’s War Writing class (IRIS326 ENGL488) visited Western Approaches, Liverpool’s Second World War Museum, housed in the top-secret bunker under Derby House from which Admiral Max Horton, Commander-in-Chief of the British Navy, won the Battle of the Atlantic. One student, a native of Liverpool, commented, “I had no idea it was even here!”

Posted on: 10 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 MagazineThe London Magazine

"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"Mary Lou McDonald

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 ‘TroublesBlack and white photo of people unpacking belongings

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 KeenanPatrick Kavanagh

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'Oklahoma sign

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 cultureInvisible Wind Factory gig space

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