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School of Irish Studies

Our faculty

The School's professors are internationally recognized experts in Irish Studies who research and teach across a wide range of disciplines and subjects.

Principal

Full-time faculty

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    Máirtín Coilféir
    • Assistant Professor, School of Irish Studies
    Research areas: Modern Irish literature, translation, ethics, humour, violence, critical theory
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    Keelan Harkin
    • Assistant Professor, School of Irish Studies
    Research areas: Irish literature, law and literature, modernism, contemporary literature, citizenship, the novel, narrative theory, Kate O’Brien, Anne Enright, Edna O’Brien, Elizabeth Bowen, Dorothy Macardle, mid-century, transnational writing, 1930s, Cold War
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    Jane G. V. McGaughey
    • Johnson Chair of Québec and Canadian Irish Studies
    • Professor of Diaspora Studies, School of Irish Studies
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    Emer O'Toole
    • Performance Studies, School of Irish Studies
    Research areas: Ireland, Performance, Theatre, Film, Performance Lectures, Activism, Aesthetics, Performativity, Interculturalism, Gender, Race, Class, Horror, The Uncanny, Postcolonialism, Feminism
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    Katie Young
    • Assistant Professor, School of Irish Studies

Part-time faculty

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    Kate Bevan-Baker
    • Instructor, Fiddle & Violin, Music, School of Performance
    • Lecturer, School of Irish Studies
  • Kate Bligh
    • Part-time Faculty, School of Irish Studies
    • Part-time Faculty, Theatre, School of Performance
    • Part-time Faculty, English
    • Part-time faculty, Education
    • Part-time faculty, Applied Human Sciences
    Status: part-time professor
    Research areas: Theatre director & acting teacher; dramaturgy and playwrighting; postcolonial/intercultural drama and performance; late C20th British & Irish playwrights; performance skills for public & professional figures.
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    Sara Terreault
    • Part-time Faculty, Theological Studies
    • Part-time Faculty, Religions and Cultures
    • Part-time Faculty, School of Irish Studies
    Research areas: Pilgrimage theory & practice; Celtic Christianity; historical & contemporary spiritual practices; contemplative traditions; theology & the arts; theology & culture; research methodology & pedagogy; Indigenous research methodology & pedagogy

The Peter O'Brien Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies

Established to honour Peter O’Brien’s leadership during the formative years of the Canadian Irish Studies Foundation, this prestigious, invitation-only program brings leading international scholars in Irish Studies to the School to conduct research, collaborate with faculty and students, and share their expertise.

From 2004 to 2023, the Canadian Irish Studies Foundation and Concordia University jointly supported Peter O’Brien Visiting Scholars, who contributed by teaching undergraduate courses and delivering public lectures. Since then, the program has evolved to host distinguished leaders in the field for shorter residencies, typically including a public lecture, scholarly seminars, and individual or collaborative research initiatives.

Retired professors

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    Michael Kenneally
    • Professor, School of Irish Studies
    • Co-Founder, School of Irish Studies, Concordia University
    • Honorary Consul General for Quebec, Government of Ireland, 2002-2022
    • Principal, School of Irish Studies, 2009 - 2021
    • Co-Founder, Canadian Irish Studies Foundation
    • Trustee, Canadian Irish Studies Foundation, 2022-
    • Concordia University Chair in Canadian Irish Studies, 2002-2017
    • Recipient, Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad, 2019
    • Recipient, Honorary Doctorate, National University of Ireland, 2014
    • Recipient, Honorary Doctorate, University of Innsbruck, 2012
    • Academic Leadership Award, Concordia University, 2012
    • Recipient, Montreal Community Award, St. Patrick's Society of Montreal, 2009
    • Named to the Global Irish 100 list by Irish America Magazine, 2009
    • Grand Marshall, St Patrick’s Day Parade, Montreal, 2002
    • Editor, Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, 2000-2003
    • Irishman of the Year, United Irish Societies of Montreal, 1997
    • Chair, International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures, 1994-2000
    • President, St. Patrick’s Society, 1993-1996
    • President, Canadian Association for Irish Studies, 1987-1990
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    Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin
    • Professor of Anthropology, Ethnomusicology and Irish Cultural History, School of Irish Studies
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    Rhona Richman Kenneally
    • Distinguished Professor Emerita, Design and Computation Arts
    • Member, Textiles and Materiality Cluster, Milieux Institute
    • Chair, Dept. of Design and Computation Arts (2010-12)
    • Academic Co-Founder and Fellow, School of Irish Studies
    • 2019 Recipient, Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad
    • Concordia Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2015
    • Distinguished Teaching Award, Faculty of Fine Arts, 2014
    Research areas: built environment, food studies, domestic space, Irish studies, Expo 67, fibres and wearables, mindful eating
 
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