- Qualification
- Master Of Arts Degree
- CAO/MU Apply code
- MHP69
- Award Type and NFQ level
- Taught Masters (9)
- Study Mode
- Part time
- Closing Date
- 30 June 2025
Overview
This programme enables students to examine and research the rich subject area of Irish history from the earliest times to the present day, and to assess the major events which led to the emergence of modern Ireland. Compulsory modules provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the sources and resources at their disposal to undertake a piece of detailed research, and foster their ability to assess and understand the major debates and controversies that have engaged historians in writing Irish history.
In addition, students choose from a suite of optional modules drawn from this and other MA programmes within the department, exploring key issues and debates associated with their chosen fields. Options vary from year to year and may include Irish social, political, military or economic history; historic houses and landed estates; local history, etc.
Commences
September
Course structure
Duration: 2 years Part-time
The MA in Irish History offers students a chance to increase their knowledge of a range of periods in Irish history and develop critical research and writing skills at postgraduate level. Students will be offered a combination of compulsory modules and optional modules as part of their programme.
This programme comprises two parts: taught modules in Year 1, and a minor research thesis in Year 2 (90 credits in total).
Year 1
Compulsory taught modules (3 x 10 credits) must be taken by part-time students in the first year of their studies to allow ample time for the completion of the thesis in the second year of the programme. The compulsory modules focus on familiarising students with the resources and sources available for the study of Irish history and also with the major debates and controversies in areas such as Irish urban history, women’s history, medieval Ireland, Irish emigration and Diaspora. Students choose two optional modules (2 x 10 credits) from a suite available in a particular year depending on the availability of lecturers. Prospective students should enquire with the course Director to discover what modules may be on offer in any given year.
Year 2
A total of 40 credits are awarded for thesis preparation (semester 1, 10 credits) and thesis completion (year-long). Students will be assigned a research supervisor on an individual basis in Year 1, but do not complete the thesis preparation module or the thesis itself until Year 2
Disclaimer
The modules below are indicative of the content associated with this course of study.
The modules are subject to change as the curriculum is revised and reviewed annually.
Careers after Grad Degree
A taught masters degree in Irish History provides a good basis for pursuing a career in education, journalism, the civil service, academia, research and arts administration. Many people go on to pursue careers or further education in the arts and heritage sector in galleries, libraries, museums, archives and cultural institutions. This qualification can also be of use in diplomatic service, politics, law, public relations, public administration among other options.
Many graduates have used their experience of conducting independent research to engage in further postgraduate research and have enrolled in M.Litt and PhD programmes in Maynooth University and elsewhere.
Entry Requirements
Students who have an honours degree with a 1:1, a 2.(i) or high 2.(ii) grade in History before the programme begins will be offered a place. Other applications will be considered depending on available spaces. Applicants must have a recognised primary degree which is considered equivalent to Irish university primary degree level.
Applicants for whom English is not their first language are required to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study. For information about English language tests accepted and required scores, please see here. The requirements specified are applicable for both EU and International applicants.
Maynooth University's TOEFL code is 8850
Research Interests
Maynooth University is one of the principal centres of research into the history of Ireland. The department offers direction of research in every period of Irish history, including local history. The research specialisations of staff are as follows:
Dr Hussam Ahmed: Specialises in the social and cultural history of the modern Middle East. Other research interests include Arab intellectual history, minorities in the Middle East, colonialism, statecraft and institution building.
Professor Terence A Dooley: Specialises in Irish social and political history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly the land question, the fortunes of great houses and estates, the work of the Irish Land Commission and the local politics of the revolutionary period. Has expertise also in policy matters concerning heritage and restoration.
Dr Alison FitzGerald: Specialises in Irish design history and material culture, in particular the study of Irish goldsmiths, jewellers and allied traders.
Dr David Lederer: Global history; Renaissance and Reformation; early modern Germany; history of emotions; gender studies.
Professor Marian Lyons: Irish migration to Europe and migrant experiences on the continent in the early modern period, with particular emphasis on France and specifically Jacobite migrants in Paris, c.1690–c.1730. Franco-Irish diplomatic and political relations in the sixteenth century. Ireland’s trading associations with France in the early modern era. Thomas Arthur, MD, of Limerick (1590–1675). The Kildare dynasty in fifteenth and sixteenth-century Ireland. Women in late medieval and early modern Ireland.
Dr Dympna McLoughlin: Specialises in gender and class nineteenth century Ireland; poverty and subsistence nineteenth century Ireland; emigration and the poor law; children, nineteenth century Ireland.
Dr JoAnne Mancini: History of the United States and its colonial antecedents; intersections of American and world history.
Dr David Murphy: Specialises in military history with a particular interest in Irish regiments in British and continental service, the Crimean War, and French military archives.
Dr John Paul Newman: Specialises in Balkan and Yugoslav cultural history with a particular interest in the First World War and its legacy in the region.
Professor Thomas O’Connor: Irish in Europe 1550–1800; Jansenism in 17th century; Roman Inquisition seventeenth century; political thought 1550–1700.
Dr Michael Potterton: Specialises in the archaeology and history of Ireland from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, especially urban and rural landscapes, settlement and society.
Dr Jennifer Redmond: Specialises in Irish emigration to England in the twentieth century; gender and sexual politics; demography and population change; modern Ireland; women and education; Irish women in the labour force; digital humanities.
Professor Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses: Lectures in Spanish and Portuguese twentieth century history, the First World War and the development of fascism, and Europe’s colonial empires in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Research interests are centred on the First World War and Twentieth-century Portugal and its colonies.
Professor Ian Speller: Research interests are in the field of military history and strategic studies, focusing in particular on maritime strategy and naval policy, the history of the Royal Navy and of expeditionary operations in the twentieth century.
Dr Jonathan Wright: A historian of Ireland and the British world in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, his research addresses two core areas: politics and political cultures in the age of revolution and reform (c.1789-1832); and British and Irish imperial history (with a particular emphasis on the Ulster experience of empire).
How to apply
Online application only. To make an application please click here.
To apply for your chosen postgraduate study at Maynooth University, please ensure you have the following documents to make an application:
- Evidence of your primary degree
- Academic transcripts
- A copy of your passport
- A personal statement
Applicants for whom English is not their first language are required to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study. For information about English language tests accepted and required scores, please see here. The requirements specified are applicable for both EU and International applicants