Ireland has one of the world's largest folklore archives. Folklore has been a vital aspect of Irish identity for hundreds of years, contributing to its literature, history and culture. Folklore, however, is not just in the past or in the countryside, it’s also in the contemporary world and in cities. It remains a significant element in the ongoing cultural process of popular traditions and expressions.

Folklore at UCC introduces the main areas of the discipline, such as narratives, stories, festivals, rituals, tools, technologies and material culture, before developing the theories, ideas and methods of Folklore, including the theories of fieldwork, original research, archives and community identity.

Year 1 Modules:

FL1004 Irish Folklore and Culture:  An Introduction (15 credits)

This module will introduce you to the subject from the beginning. Moving from art to artifice, from the natural to the supernatural, it presents a colourful range of narratives and stories, festivals and rituals, not forgetting the tools, technologies and material culture so essential to human life.

You will be introduced to the study of human culture as it expresses itself through language, behaviour and artefact. This module encompasses stories and storytelling, rituals, popular religion and festivals, material culture and lifestyle.

Year 2 Modules:

We offer 30 Credits, three 5 Credit Modules in Semester 1 and three 5 Credit Modules in Semester 2:

Irish Folklore and History; Festival and Ritual in Popular Culture; Exploring the Otherworld; Popular Belief and Symbols; Folklore and Gender; Archives and Folklore in Ireland; Ethnographic Archives Worldwide

Year 3*/4 Modules:

We offer 30 Credits, three 5 Credit Modules in Semester 1 and three 5 Credit Modules in Semester 2:

Exploring Material Culture and Folklore; Studying Stories, Theory and Method;  Trad and Blues: Musical Traditions and Cultural Contexts; Indigenous Knowledge: Herbs and Healing in Irish Folkore; Fieldwork and Folklore; The Ethnographic Interview: An Introduction

*BA International students spend third year studying in an approved foreign university in a country of the student's major language or subject.  They will return to complete their final year in UCC in year 4.

See the Book of Modules for Folklore for further details on modules.

Refer to CK101 and CK108

Refer to CK101 and CK108. First year students choose Arts subjects when registering.

Expected lecture hours: In Year 1 you will have 3 hours of lectures a week, and tutorials will also be available.

In Years 2 and 3 all modules are two hours per week.

Lectures, Reading Lists and Assignments are made available on Blackboard.

Field trips: Students may be requested to contribute to the cost of field trips if such are organised.

Year 1 is examined by a combination of continuous assessment and one end-of-year examination.

In Years 2 and 3, modules are examined by a combination of continuous assessment or a written examination.

Methods such as presentations, research reports, journals and field work are also used to assess practicals.

Dr Stiofán Ó Cadhla

Dr Marie-Annick Desplanques

Dr Clíona O’Carroll

Ciarán Ó Gealbháin