Seminar: "Archives in Research – Methods, Practice, Outcomes"

Archives in Research – Methods, Practice, Outcomes

Date: 2 February 2017

Venue: G010 - Moore Institute, Hardiman Research Building

The Archives service of the James Hardiman Library, NUI Galway are hosting a half-day seminar on the theme of 'Archives in Research'. The seminar will feature expert speakers in various academic fields who will showcase new research projects which are based on innovative use of archival collections. The seminar will focus on a range of themes, including community and publicly-sourced records of the revolutionary period in the West of Ireland which are being digitised and being made publicly available online. Other areas addressed will be an NUI-funded project centred on creating digital access to historic traditional Irish musical scores, Irish language manuscripts and the research of the context of their collection.

A keynote paper will be delivered by Professor Frank Shovlin, Director of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool. The paper will  detail the experiences of Prof. Shovlin's study of the literary archive of celebrated writer John McGahern and the influence that archive has had on his research.

Completing the day, Dr. John Kenny (Discipline of English, NUI Galway) will launch the new book Touchstones: John McGahern's Classical Style by Professor Shovlin.

The event is free and all are welcome to attend.  For catering purposes please register on Eventbrite

Schedule:

3pm  - Welcome and introduction  - Niall McSweeney (Head of Research and Learning, Hardiman Library)

3.05pm  - Chair: Kieran Hoare, Archivist (Hardiman Library)

3.10pm - Dr. Conor McNamara (History) Chronicling the familial experience of the Irish revolution: digitising the Cleary Papers

3.30pm - Dr. Deirdre Ni Chonghaile (NUI Fellow in Irish/Celtic Studies) The Rev. Daniel J. Murphy Collection: Reconfiguring the Cultural History of Irish-speakers in the 19th and 20th Centuries.

3.50 – 4.00pm    - Q & A

Short Break

4.10pm – Keynote Lecture  Prof. Frank Shovlin (Director of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool) - Prospecting for Gold: A Year with the McGahern Papers.  Chair: Professor Dan Carey (Director, Moore Institute)

4.40pm – Q & A

4.55pm – Summary Comments – Barry Houlihan, Archivist (Hardiman Library)

Break

5.30pm – Book launch – Dr. John Kenny (English)

                   Touchstones: John McGahern’s Classical Style by Prof. Frank Shovlin.

PODCAST: Prof. Frank Shovlin and Mining the Literary Archive of John McGahern

Welcome to this podcast from the Archives of the Hardiman Library, NUI Galway. This episode features a conversation with Professor Frank Shovlin, who shares his experiences and thoughts from extensive research carried out on the archive of writer, John McGahern.

Prof. Frank Shovlin

Frank was educated at University College Galway where he took BA and MA degrees before moving to complete doctoral studies at St John's College, Oxford. In 2008 frank became a senior lecturer at the University of Liverpool and in 2014 took up the role as head of department at the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool.

Frank has earned numerous competitive fellowship awards, notably Leverhulme Study Abroad Fellowships and Moore Institute Visiting Fellowships which enabled detailed study of the Archive of John McGahern.

Frank has published widely in leading journals and publications on Irish literature, print culture and related topics. Previous monographs include "The Irish Literary Periodical 1923-1958" ; "Journey Westward: Joyce, Dubliners and the Literary Revival" and Frank's most recent monograph is entitled "Touchstones: John McGahern's Classical style"

Items from the McGahern Archive at NUI Galway

In this conversation Frank discusses his engagement with the archive of the archive John McGahern and how that archive has influenced Frank's research.