Irish Studies

Entry requirements

For full entry requirement details, please see the course page on the University website.

Months of entry

Anytime

Course content

The Institute of Irish Studies is an interdisciplinary centre of academic excellence with a global reputation for the study of Ireland. Our disciplinary base ranges from Irish history from medieval to modern times, literature, politics, conflict and peacebuilding, transformative justice, migration, cultural geography and gender studies.

We are a world-leading centre for Irish Studies research. Established in 1988, the Institute of Irish Studies is the only one of its kind within Britain. Its mission is to be the UK’s main centre for multidisciplinary research into Ireland and its world-wide relations.

The Irish government recognised our international standing in 2007 with a multi-million pound endowment to fund a Chair in Irish Studies. This funding has helped us to extend the scope of our teaching and research.

Our doctoral students pursue many original lines of research across the spectrum of Irish Studies, including literature, history, politics, conflict and its transformation as well as migration. Time frames span from the medieval to the present day and we have a superb Irish library housing many rare books, political papers and periodicals. There are also rich opportunities for expert dual supervision if you wish to pursue a cross-disciplinary topics.

If you would like to find out more about funding opportunities for MRes or PhD in the Humanities or Social Science programmes or to discuss applying for them the Institute of Irish Studies would be happy to hear from you. We would like to hear from any student wishing to apply to any major funding body who would like to study with us. We are part of the AHRC's Northwest Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership and the ESRC's Northwest Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership and we support applications to both. Further details can be found at: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/doctoral-training-programmes/humanities-and-social-sciences/

We welcome research proposals that match those of our researchers, including:

• Medieval Europe, especially Britain and Ireland AD 400-1350
• Political Inclusion and Exclusion in Ireland
• Religion and Identity in Ireland and its Diaspora
• Political violence
• Post-conflict transformation
• Policing and community
• The impact of ethno-sectarian reproduction
• Women’s and gender history
• Political activism
• Legislative reform
• Nineteenth and twentieth-century- literature and culture, particularly W.B. Yeats, modern drama, Modernism, modern poetry and Irish fiction including James Joyce, John McGahern and periodical cultures
• Twentieth- and twenty-first century history and politics, especially Irish Republicanism, church history, women’s activism, grass-roots organisation, and good relations.