Professor Claire Connolly (School of English and Digital Humanities) has been appointed to the Irish Research Council for a three-year period.

As a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, a Member of the Royal Irish Academy and the Royal Irish Academy Council Prof Connolly’s publications have focused on the cultural history of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Ireland.

Prof Connolly is currently PI of the ERDF-funded project, Ports, Past and Present (2019-2023) which explores the cultural heritage of ports connecting Ireland and Wales (Dublin, Rosslare, Holyhead, Fishguard and Pembroke Dock). Project partners on the Ports, Past and Present project include   Aberystwyth University, the University of Wales Trinity St David and Wexford County Council.

Prior to this Prof Connolly was Co-Principal Investigator of the interdisciplinary research project Deep Maps: West Cork Coastal Cultures (funded via an Irish Research Council New Horizons Award, 2015-2018) with Dr Rob McAllen (School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UCC). The Deep Maps project sought to mobilise interdisciplinary understandings about contemporary environmental priorities by exploring the cultural history of the West Cork coastline between 1700 and 1920 while considering the future of this unique area.

Speaking of her appointment, Prof Connolly said:

“Having seen and experienced the transformative power of IRC funding, it’s an honour to be appointed to this Board. I look forward to working with colleagues on the IRC Council to continue to develop Ireland’s research eco-system, to advance the prospects of all of our researchers — from postgraduates to professors — and to share the benefits of research right across Irish society.”

Congratulating Prof. Connolly on her appointment, UCC President Prof. John O'Halloran said:

"We are delighted to see Professor Claire Connolly appointed to IRC. She will bring a deep understanding and commitment of excellence in research to the role, and shape an ambitious strategy for humanities and in securing our future,"  

Prof. Connolly is one of two new appointments to the Irish Research Council, along with Professor Colin Scott of University College Dublin.

At the announcement of the appointment, Director of the Irish Research Council Peter Brown, said:

“We are very pleased to welcome Professor Claire Connolly and Professor Colin Scott as members of the Irish Research Council. This is an interesting time for the Irish Research Council as Government prepares a new national strategy for research and innovation. The Irish Research Council looks forward to helping shape and deliver this new strategy to maintain a vibrant research eco-system and to ensure research can respond to the big challenges of our time. We are delighted to have Professor Connolly and Professor Scott working with us on these important challenges.”