ResearchModern Irish History

The University of Strathclyde is a leading centre for the study of modern Irish history (1800-present). It is home to the largest concentration of specialists in modern Irish history in Scotland and one of the largest in Britain.

Located in Glasgow - a historic centre of the Irish diaspora - our expertise focuses on political and social activism, the Irish diaspora, gender history, oral history, and political violence. We offer a range of undergraduate and postgraduate classes in Irish history.

Research & Knowledge Exchange

Our work incorporates a range of research themes and public activities. We have published widely on the modern history of the island of Ireland, including on the topics of gender history, the Irish diaspora, the history of activism, the history and memory of the Troubles, reproductive and sexual health, music and political violence.

We engage in a range of collaborations and interdisciplinary activity with external partners including libraries and heritage organisations, musicians and songwriters. We contribute to media productions with various organisations, including RTÉ television and radio, the BBC, Channel 4 and TG4.

Our people

Prof. Laura Kelly

Professor Laura Kelly is a historian of modern Ireland with expertise in gender history, oral history and the social history of medicine. She is currently researching the history of pro-choice and pro-life activism in 1980s and 1990s Ireland.

Dr Niall Whelehan

Dr Niall Whelehan’s research focuses  on themes of migration, political violence, radicalism, and comparative and transnational history, mainly relating to Ireland and the Irish diaspora. He is currently researching a project on Irish migration and settlement in Argentina in the long-nineteenth century.

Dr Fearghus Roulston

Dr Fearghus Roulston is Chancellor’s Fellow in the History of Activism at the University of Strathclyde. He is also a member of the editorial board of the Oral History Journal and a fellow of the Royal Historical Soceity. His first book, Belfast Punk and the Troubles: An Oral History, was published by Manchester University Press in 2022.

Dr Martin Mitchell

Dr Martin Mitchell’s teaching and research interests lie in the fields of British History, Scottish History and the history of Irish migration to Scotland. He is the author of New Perspectives on the Irish in Scotland and The Irish in the West of Scotland, 1797-1848: Trade Unions, Strikes and Political Movements.

Dr Louise Brangan

Dr Louise Brangan (Department of Social Work and Social Policy) is a sociologist of punishment, who focuses on the comparative and historical study of punishment, culture and politics. She has written on the contemporary history of Irish and Scottish prisons and the history of Irish criminology. She is currently researching Magdalene Laundries in Ireland.

Teaching

Irish History classes offered at undergraduate and postgraduate levels:

  • Modern Ireland, 1845 - today.
  • The Irish Diaspora, 1800-2020
  • Everyday Life, Activism and the Troubles
  • Sex, medicine and society in Britain and Ireland
  • Women's Lives in Modern Ireland
  • Ireland, Colonialism and Anticolonialism

These classes are included on the BA History at undergraduate level and the MSc Historical Studies at postgraduate level.

Current PhD students

Thomas Hanson (with the University of Glasgow), ‘Remembering ‘The Troubles’: Contextualisation Practices in Archiving of Conflict Photography’

Ronan McGreechin (with the University of Stirling), ‘Shipyard Workers, Literary Culture and Communities in Clydeside and Belfast, 1840-1914’

Completed PhD dissertations

Niamh Coffey. ‘'Diaspora Nationalism, the Dundee-Irish, and the Experiences of Irish Republican Women in Britain, c.1916-1966’. Completed December 2023

Publications

Upcoming events