天美传媒app

Nic Dh谩ibh茅id studied history and French at University College Cork and later earned master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees at Queen鈥檚 University Belfast, where she served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute of Irish Studies. She also was a Rutherford Research Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, and a research fellow at the University of St Andrew鈥檚 Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence.

鈥淚鈥檓 interested in the inner lives of people who lived through that period, civilians and combatants alike,鈥� said Nic Dh谩ibh茅id, who co-chairs an expert advisory panel to support the writing of a history of British policy during the Northern Ireland Troubles. 鈥淭he revolution brought substantial changes to Ireland, but also a new dynamic to personal relationships among Irish people who were caught up in it. Couples met through revolutionary activities, so love was more than deep affection, economic rationale, or finding your place in the social strata; it was also a political declaration.鈥�

鈥淭he revolution also caused a rupture to familial and personal relationships, whether through separation, imprisonment or death, and spouses, children, siblings, other relatives, as well as friends, had to contend with the burden of revolutionary love as well as its excitement. At the lecture, I want to talk about these various forms of love鈥攔omantic, platonic, familial鈥攊n the context of the Irish Revolution, and what a closer reading of affection and intimacy during this period might say about Irish revolutionary dynamics.鈥�

Nic Dh谩ibh茅id follows a similar path in the undergraduate course she is teaching, The Irish Revolution: Living, Fighting and Dying in Ireland, 1916-1923, which examines the paramilitarism of political culture, the nature and dynamics of revolutionary violence, and entrenchment of divisions. But for her, the emphasis is on personal experiences.

鈥淲hat was it like to be a rebel, a policeman, a soldier, a civilian during that time?鈥� she explained. 鈥淲hat was it like to watch a funeral for someone who had been killed, or to jeer at soldiers or other combatants, or to wonder if the fighting might someday reach your doorstep? Fortunately, there are rich primary sources that offer such details, whether it鈥檚 newspapers, official reports, or personal correspondence and diaries.鈥�

For example, while researching in the Burns Library archives, Nic Dh谩ibh茅id came upon a collection of autograph books that Irish women jailed by British authorities passed along to one another. These contain details like prisoners鈥� jail and home addresses as well as reminiscences, short verses of prose or poetry, and words of support and inspiration.

鈥淚t鈥檚 fascinating to look through these books and see how these women kept a record of their presence, and in doing so demonstrated solidarity with one another,鈥� said Nic Dh谩ibh茅id.

Such personal memorabilia can be revealing, she noted, and so can more official correspondence. Several years ago, she combed through an archive of letters written by Irish citizens to the newly established post-revolution Irish government seeking compensation for losses they sustained during the conflict.

鈥淎s part of the process, they had to narrativize and monetize their losses, which in some cases was pretty straightforward: Somebody鈥檚 house was damaged in the fighting and needed a certain amount to repair the damage. But then there were people whose husband or son had been killed and who were deprived of their breadwinner within the family: How do you put a figure on something like that?

鈥淵et through the compensation process, a number had to be determined for what that loss amounted to. As bereaved families navigated that very bureaucratic, official process, we can glimpse the pain and the loss that the revolution meant for many people.鈥�

The full impact of a family member鈥檚 death might not always have been readily apparent or understood, adds Nic Dh谩ibh茅id. In 1920s Dublin, a young boy named Donagh MacDonagh watching 鈥淪houlder Arms,鈥� a satirical war film by Charlie Chaplin, suddenly experienced a panic attack and had to be taken out of the theater. Donagh鈥檚 father, Thomas, was one of the leaders of the 1916 Irish Easter Rising who had been executed by the British; hours after his father鈥檚 death, the family鈥檚 home had been raided by British soldiers. These experiences had inculcated in Donagh a terror of soldiers in uniform鈥攅ven if they were flickering images on a movie screen.

鈥淭he wider effect of conflict-related trauma is a relatively new area of research in my field; we still don鈥檛 know much about what it was like for children who lived through the Irish Revolution,鈥� said Nic Dh谩ibh茅id. 鈥淎nd there are still questions about how adults fared during that time, too, but through these kinds of accounts, and the stories that emerge from personal or official documents, we can begin to understand. My role as a historian is to treat these stories with care and respect. I feel privileged to have this kind of access to people鈥檚 lives, and I鈥檓 often moved by the intimacy of the personal correspondence and other papers.鈥�

Nic Dh谩ibh茅id鈥攚ho had previously visited the campus a few times for academic events鈥攚as familiar enough with the reputation of 天美传媒app鈥檚 Irish Studies Program and the Burns Library holdings to apply for the Burns Scholar position. Two months into the semester, her regard for 天美传媒app has been bolstered by the students she鈥檚 encountered, whether through her class or in other circumstances.

鈥淚鈥檓 so impressed by the students鈥� engagement, their willingness to ask questions, and to participate sincerely with material which may be unfamiliar to them,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e know that research-led teaching is highly beneficial for students, but I think it鈥檚 equally true that the insights that come out of teaching feed back into the research鈥攁nd so I鈥檓 an equally firm believer in teaching-led research. It鈥檚 been a wonderful experience all around.鈥�