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Irish Studies

Director, Richard Finnegan (rfinnega@stonehill.edu)
Office: Martin Institute 110
phone (508) 565-1135 

The program in Irish Studies is a minor concentration.

Irish Studies is an interdisciplinary field of concentration intended to provide a knowledge of the people and culture of Ireland. Drawing upon the Ireland's historical and literary traditions, the program seeks to develop in students both a deeper cultural understanding of Ireland and, in turn, a wider understanding of the culturally pluralistic United States.

The minor consists of six courses drawn from courses based in history, politics, literature and interdisciplinary Irish studies.  Courses range from early Christian Ireland to the development of the Irish economy in the last fifty years. 

IR 200 Early Christian Ireland

IR 201 Medieval Ireland

IR 202 Early Modern Ireland

IR 203 Modern Ireland

IR 204 Contemporary Ireland

EN 357 English and Irish Drama

FA 335 Irish Music
HS 205 The Irish-American Experience
HS 214 Ireland: From Colony to Nation State

PS 275 Irish Economic Development and the European Union
PS 339 Modern Ireland-Irish Government Documents
PS 354 Irish Politics
PS 475 Internship in Irish Studies
PS 490 Directed Study: Selected Topics

Students who study in Ireland can apply their Irish Studies courses toward the minor, with the approval of the Program Director. Students who intern in Ireland can apply 3 credits toward the minor.

Most Stonehill students study in Ireland at National University of Galway.  Students who wish to do an internship in Ireland are more likely to be based in Dublin.  Internships are available in a wide variety of setting including hospitals, government agencies, the parliament, and a variety of businesses. Students interested in studying or internships in Ireland should go to the Study Abroad Office.  Students choosing the Irish Studies minor are urged to consult the faculty advisor for guidance in the selection of courses. 

The Irish Studies Program offers interdisciplinary Irish Studies courses which are self paced and computer mediated.  These course are based upon materials prepared at National University of Galway and allow the student to encounter a multidisciplinary approach to Irish history, literature, art and architecture and complete courses in their minor with more flexibility.

The Irish Studies program at Stonehill benefits from the Collection of Irish Government Documents held at the MacPhaidin Library.  This the only comprehensive collection of government reports, parliamentary papers, debates and special studies. One of the Irish Studies courses is based on the documents but the materials can support research in the politics and history of  modern Ireland. Information on the collection can be found at MacPhaidin Library.

The Irish Studies Program brings lecturers from Ireland and the United States to visit the college.  In the past these have included three Prime Ministers of Ireland: Garret FitzGerald, Charles Haughey and Albert Reynolds,  Nobel Prize winning poet  Seamus Heaney, scholars such as Joe Lee from University College Cork, , diplomats and political figures such as Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume from  Northern Ireland.  The college has hosted the New England Conference for Irish Studies on a number of occasions including one focused on Northern Ireland in 2002.

Upcoming Events:

Irish Studies

The New England Conference for Irish Studies will hold its annual meeting at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton MA on October 15, 2005.  The theme of the conference is "Forty Shades of Green" which is focused on the different conception of Irish identity in Ireland, the United States, Europe and Northern Ireland. For further information please email rfinnegan@stonehill.edu.

Irish Government Documents

The Irish Studies Program at the College will hold a conference tentatively set for November 19, 2005 which will introduce participants to the collection of Irish government documents at the MacPhaidin Library. This the only comprehensive collection of government reports, parliamentary papers, debates and special studies of the Irish government from 1922 to the present.  The materials can support research in the politics and history of  modern Ireland. Information on the collection can be found at MacPhaidin Library. For further information please email rfinnegan@stonehill.edu.

               William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett, Seamus Heaney, Irish Nobel Laureates in Literature