Niamh has recently completed a PhD in History at the University of Strathclyde

Tell us a little bit about your background...

I started my studies at the University of Birmingham where I obtained an undergraduate degree in history and a master’s in modern British History. In the summer of 2017, I also worked as a research assistant for Professor Mo Moulton’s research, which was published in their 2019 book, The Mutual Admiration Society. During this time, I became increasingly interested in Irish history, which was an area I never had the opportunity to study. I also became interested in methodological approaches to history, especially gender and transnational frameworks. During my MA year, I got in contact with Dr Niall Whelehan and Professor Enda Delaney (University of Edinburgh), who were looking for a student to complete a research project on the Dundee Irish that would combine these approaches, in partnership with Dundee Local History Centre. I then applied for funding from the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities, which I was awarded.

What drew you towards undertaking a research degree?

From the moment I started my undergraduate course at the University of Birmingham, I knew I wanted to pursue a PhD. I was drawn to the idea of academic research and constantly wanted to find out more about the topics I studied. While I was completing my undergraduate dissertation, I became interested in the Irish diaspora and migrant communities, however I did not have the time or resources to explore this further. My appetite to explore this topic more grew during my MA, and my supervisor at the time pointed me in the direction of Dr Whelehan and Professor Delaney. The area they were looking to find someone to research was exactly what I was interested in, albeit with a focus on the Irish in Scotland rather than England. However, I was excited to expand my lens of focus and finally have the resources and support to explore an area of history that I had been curious about for so long.

Tell us about the format of the programme. What was a typical working week like?

There was a lot of freedom with the programme, so no two weeks looked the same! My research was also impacted by the Covid Lockdowns, so one year of study was very different to the other three! The first year comprised of a lot of reading and building the historiographical foundation on which to build my thesis. I also joined an Irish History Workshop which consisted of other Irish history PhD students which met every two weeks to discuss developing trends in the field and gave practical help with writing and chapters, and a writing retreat which met weekly. I conducted most of my primary research using the digitised sources in the Irish Military Service Pensions website during the Covid lockdown. However, once lockdown ended, I travelled to archives to complete the rest of my research. This included going to the National Records of Scotland, National Archives, Irish Military Archives, and National Library of Ireland. During this time, I also completed an internship with Dundee Local History Centre. As part of this, I delivered a series of talks on my research for Lochee Library, the Friends of Dundee Archives, and the Abertay Historical Society. Finally, I taught during my final year, which meant that a good chunk of my working week was spent in delivering seminars and prepping classes.

The highlight of my PhD journey was winning the British Association for Irish Studies’ 2022 Essay Prize. The competition is run annually for PhD researchers based in Britain in the field of Irish studies. I submitted an article after some encouragement from my supervisors and was pleasantly surprised when I won! The article was published in the summer edition of Irish Studies Review, and I was invited to the Irish Embassy in London for a reception with the ambassador! There are plenty of competitions for PhD researchers which I would strongly recommend applying for even just on a whim!

Tell us a little bit about the research you are conducting...

My research took a bit of a turn because of the Covid pandemic. It was originally going to explore gender and Irish republicanism in nineteenth century Dundee; however, the pandemic and subsequent lockdown forced me to rely on digitised sources. One of which was the Military Service Pension Collection which was digitised by the Irish Military Archives. Within this collection, there were applications lodged by Irish Republican women who were based in Britain during the Irish Revolution. Very little had been written about these women despite the recent focus on the Revolutionary period after the 100^th anniversary of the Easter Rising in 2016. Therefore, I shifted the period of my research forward by about fifty years but retained the focus on gender and transnational republicanism.

I often tell people that my research is ‘Peaky Blinders, but Irish women!’ However, it’s much more than that. I examine the ways Irish Republican women in Britain used their gender to promote their cause and conceal their activities. There are some amazing stories about guns being sewn into petticoats and detonators being transported in babies’ pram! However, I also examine the networks they operated in and how the transcended borders. How were the experiences of Irish republican women in Britain different or similar to those in Ireland, or the USA? Another key area of my research is the afterlives of these women, and how their activities affected them in later life. Many of these women suffered physically and mentally because of their treatment by the authorities, and their stories are not well known compared to their male counterparts, or those who were based in Ireland.

What is the research community at Strathclyde like?

Strathclyde has a small but engaged community of history researchers. Everyone is supportive and genuinely interested in each other’s research. As my research was impacted by the Covid pandemic, I found the support network at Strathclyde beneficial and a lifeline during lockdown. The faculty are also very supportive, and I felt like everyone was in my corner, whether I was applying for funding, planning seminars for students, or preparing for my viva. It can be quite lonely conducting history research, therefore it was very important to have a strong research community at Strathclyde.

What are your future career goals?

Since completing my PhD, I’ve taken an editorial position with a digital publishing company which focuses on primary source content, and I love it! I am still thinking about the possibility of pursuing more research, however I am open to seeing where this job takes me! I am currently reviewing my thesis working on a book proposal, therefore my current goal is to produce a monograph.

What advice would you give to someone considering applying for this course?

A PhD is a marathon, and not a sprint. Do not worry if you don’t produce pages of research straight away, focus on setting a good foundation of secondary reading and research for yourself initially.

Be flexible. Your research will take many twists and turns (hopefully not a pandemic inducing lockdown but who knows) but that’s not a bad thing.

Enjoy it! There are very few jobs or opportunities which let you be in control like doing PhD research does, so take advantage of it!