Congratulations to MIC academic Dr Ailbhe McDaid who was recently awarded over half a million euro by the Irish Research Council (IRC) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Dr McDaid, who is an Assistant Professor in MIC’s Department of English Language and Literature, was awarded the prestigious funding under the IRC-SFI Pathways Fellowship which supports excellent early career researchers from all disciplines towards becoming research leaders of the future.
The €590,000 funding was awarded to Pathologies of Violence: Inscriptions of Global Conflict in Irish Literature 1922-present (PATHOS), a new research project led by Dr McDaid. PATHOS will document the development of global ethical citizenship in recent Irish writing, situating Irish literature in a global context by considering how international crises reach Irish shores.
According to Dr McDaid: “I am thrilled to receive this funding to undertake important humanities-based research into this topic of societal urgency. The PATHOS project considers how international events register in Irish cultural practice, and asks what does this indicate about changing Irish identities? Since independence, Ireland has responded to global crises through political, military and humanitarian action. In the current context of unprecedented displacement, this timely project will deliver a fuller understanding of the significance of global conflict in shaping Irish society.”
PATHOS will run from 2024-2028, and will employ a Postdoctoral Fellow and a PhD student to work on aspects of the research programme. The project involves collaborations with key cultural organisations including the eminent literary magazine, The Stinging Fly and award-winning art gallery, The Glucksman. Planned activities include interdisciplinary creative workshops, a publicly-available digital repository, exhibitions, international conferences and multi-media dissemination.
Welcoming the announcement, Director of the Irish Research Council, Peter Brown, said: “I would like to warmly congratulate Dr McDaid on her success. The Irish Research Council is pleased to partner with Science Foundation Ireland on the Pathway programme. This programme aims to support talented researchers from all research disciplines to develop their track record and transition to become independent research leaders. As a previous recipient of an IRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, Dr McDaid is, with this Pathways award, indeed making the transition to the next phase of her career, and we wish her well as she undertakes this important research.”
Dr McDaid has worked extensively on migration and conflict in her research to date – her first book is entitled The Poetics of Migration in Contemporary Irish Poetry and her most recent research and forthcoming book, funded by an IRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, focuses on literature and conflict in the period of the Irish Revolution.
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