Irish Studies is an interdisciplinary field of research devoted to the study of Irish language, culture, literature, politics and history in Ireland and elsewhere. It is sometimes subsumed within the category of Celtic studies and European studies.
In 2018, the Irish government launched a Global Ireland initiative which was designed to promote all aspects of Ireland, including culture, diplomacy and business, internationally.[1] This supplemented the Culture Ireland initiative which was established in 2005.[2]
There are a number of academic centres devoted to research and teaching in Irish Studies throughout the world.
Each of the universities in Ireland has particular expertise in aspects of Irish studies.
In Dublin, University College Dublin hosts the School of Irish, Celtic Studies and Folklore which offers a Masters in Irish Studies as well as other courses. The Department of Irish and Celtic Studies at Trinity College Dublin offers various full-time and part-time courses. The TCD Centre for New Irish Studies hosts the Making Ireland College Research Theme. The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies is a research institute that since 1940 has a School of Celtic Studies which conducts research into aspects of Irish studies.
At Maynooth University there is the School of Celtic Studies which includes the Department of Old Irish, the Department of Modern Irish, the Center for Irish: Research, Teaching and Testing and Irish Cultural Heritage. It offers various teaching programs for undergraduate, postgraduate, international students and University staff.
University College Cork hosts CELT (Digital Humanities Resource for Irish history, literature and politics) and offers a Certificate in Irish Studies.
In Limerick, the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance located at the University of Limerick hosts the Global Irish programme while there is an Institute of Irish Studies at Mary Immaculate College.
At the University of Galway the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies hosts a Centre for Irish Studies.
The Atlantic Technological University offers an undergraduate degree in Business and Irish (language and literature) at its Sligo campus.
In Belfast, the Institute for Irish Studies was established in 1965 at Queen's University Belfast. This university also hosts the Seamus Heaney Centre which promotes all aspects of creative writing. Ulster University also has a range of expertise in Irish and Celtic studies and in Ulster Scots studies.
In England there is the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool. London Metropolitan University hosts an Archive of the Irish in Britain in its Special Collections. The University of Manchester has a Research Centre for Postcolonial and Irish Studies. King's College London has a research group and the University of Cambridge has expertise in Modern Irish History.
In Scotland there is the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen. The University of Glasgow hosts the Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies which includes expertise in Irish studies. A Chair of Celtic Studies was established there in 1956 followed by a Chair of Gaelic Studies in 2010. The University of Edinburgh has an active Irish history group.
In Wales, the Department of Welsh and Celtic Studies at the University of Aberystwyth offers courses in Irish language and literature.
Elsewhere in Europe there is interest in Irish studies reflecting the long engagement of Ireland with the continent.[3]
In Germany, there is a Centre for Irish Studies at the University of Flensburg and at the University of Würzburg.[4]
In France, there is the Paris Centre for Irish Studies at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University Paris 3.
In Belgium, the Irish College Leuven was established in 1955 to promote education and research in international affairs. It collaborates with the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in the organisation of the Leuven Centre for Irish Studies to promote research in Irish Studies and collaboration with Irish universities.
In Spain, there are several centres for Irish studies including the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Irlandeses, Amergin at the University of A Coruña[5] and the Centre for Irish Studies at the University of Granada,[6]
There are also centres of research into aspects Irish Studies in many other European countries[7] including the University of Vienna,[8] Charles University in Prague,[9] and the University of Turin.[10]
With the history of Irish emigration to North America, it is not surprising that there are a number of centers of Irish Studies there.[11] In the United States there are several centers, especially in the north-east.
In New York City, the Glucksman Ireland House is based at New York University and there is an Irish Studies Department at Fordham University. Hofstra University offers a minor in Irish Studies while at Iona University you can take courses in Irish history and literature.
In Connecticut, there is an Irish Studies program at Fairfield University and Quinnipiac University hosts Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute. Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut offers a minor in Irish Studies and also has a centre in Dingle, County Kerry for intensive study.
In Massachusetts there is a Center for Irish Programs at Boston College which coordinates its Irish Studies program, the Irish Institute, the Burns Library Irish Collections, Boston College-Ireland in Dublin, and the Gaelic Roots Program. The Burns Library is dedicated to preserving the abundant historical, literary, musical, and artistic heritage of Ireland. There is also a Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies Program.[12] Harvard University's Department of Celtic Languages and Literaturesoffers a range of courses in Irish studies and hosts the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Irish Studies.[13]
In Pennsylvania, Villanova University hosts a Center for Irish Studies. In Philadelphia, Saint Joseph's University offers a minor in Irish Studies. The University of Pittsburgh also offers a minor in Irish Studies.
In Washington, D.C., there is a Center for Irish Studies at the Catholic University of America and a Global Irish Studies program at Georgetown University.
In Indiana, the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies is located at the University of Notre Dame. The university also has the Kylemore Abbey Global Centre which is located in a former Benedictine monastery in the Connemara region in the west of Ireland.
In Minnesota, the University of St. Thomas hosts a Center for Irish Studies. This center publishes the New Hibernia Review and organises the Lawrence O'Shaughnessy Award for Poetry, as well as the Celtic Collection, which was started back in 1917.
In Montana, the University of Montana offers an Irish Studies minor.
In Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee has a Centre for Celtic Studies which includes opportunity for intensive study of Irish language and literature. There is also the opportunity to take a minor in Irish Studies at Marquette University.
In Georgia, the Georgia Southern University offers a program in Irish studies which includes courses in Irish language and literature.
In Texas, there is a William J. Flynn Center for Irish Studies at the University of St. Thomas (Texas).
In California, Loyola Marymount University offers a minor in Irish Studies while an Irish Studies program is housed within the University of California, Berkeley Institute of European Studies.
In Canada, several universities offer courses in Irish Studies. There is the School of Irish Studies at Concordia University in Montreal which offers a Major in Irish studies and the opportunity to do graduate work. The School hosts the Peter O'Brien Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies and through the Canadian Irish Studies Foundation supports studentships and research. In Toronto, the University of St. Michael's College has a Celtic Studies Program which offers courses in Irish studies. Saint Mary's University (Halifax) in Nova Scotia has an interdisciplinary programme in Irish Studies and hosts the D'Arcy McGee Chair of Irish Studies.
There is also interest in Irish studies in South America.[14] In Argentina, the Universidad del Salvador offers a Diploma in Irish Studies. In Brazil, the W.B. Yeats Chair of Irish Studies was established at the University of São Paulo in 2009.[15]
Again, as a result of emigration to Australia and New Zealand there is considerable interest in Irish studies there.[16][17]
In Australia, the University of New South Wales established the John Hume Institute in Global Irish Studies which hosts the Australian Ireland Fund Chair in Modern Irish Studies. The university also offers a major in Irish Studies which provides an interdisciplinary exploration of Irish history, culture and society over the past two hundred years that takes particular account of Ireland's relationships with Australia and with Europe. The University of Melbourne hosts the Gerry Higgins Chair in Irish Studies.[18]
In New Zealand, the University of Otago has a Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies which hosts the endowed Eamon Cleary Professor of Irish Studies and offers an undergraduate minor in Irish Studies.
In Asia, there is growing interest in Irish studies. In China, the Beijing Foreign Studies University launched a multidisciplinary Irish Studies program in 2007. In 2009, Shanghai Normal University launched its Irish Literature Research Centre, which includes both undergraduate and graduate courses. A part of the program involves an annual two month festival of Irish culture as well as the production of an entire Irish play, in English. About the same time, a small Centre for Irish Studies emerged in Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade.[19]
In Japan, in 2015, Waseda University established an Institute of Irish Studies.[20]
In Africa, a Research Centre for Irish Studies was established in The British University in Egypt in 2020. It aims to be the leading research centre for Irish Studies and all matters Irish in Egypt, the Middle East, and Africa.[21]
There are a number of journals devoted to publishing the results of research in Irish Studies.[22] These include:
There are several book series devoted to aspects of Irish studies. These include:
Several organizations have been established in various countries to promote research and collaboration in Irish Studies.[38] There is the European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies, British Association of Irish Studies, the American Conference for Irish Studies, the Canadian Association for Irish Studies, the French Society for Irish Studies, the Spanish Association for Irish Studies, the Brazilian Association of Irish Studies and the Irish Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand.
Internationally, there is the International Association for the Study of Irish Literature and the Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland.
In Ireland, there are many relevant organizations including the Irish Women's Writing Network and the Labour History Society.