About me
In September 2024, I joined the School of Irish, Celtic Studies & Folklore at University College Dublin as Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Celtic Civilisation.
I completed my PhD in Irish & Celtic Studies at Ulster University in 2023 under the supervision of Dr Peadar Mac Gabhann and Professor Maxim Fomin. My thesis was an examination, edition, and analysis of three lives of Irish saints associated with Donegal, Roscommon, Fermanagh, and Sligo and their connection(s) with Colum Cille.
My research concerns medieval and Early Modern Irish monasticism and hagiography, legal history, comparative Celtic and Norse and reception, Gaelic learned families, and the cult of Colum Cille and lesser-known saints in Ireland and Scotland. I emphasise in particular the historical value of later medieval examples of hagiography as a reflection of Gaelic identity and cultural memory.
I have been involved in a number of digital and collaborative projects (especially the Celtic Hagiography Network), organised conferences, and most recently co-edited Fri Selba Ségann (2025). I am also currently working on my monograph volume on Betha Náile as well as an edition of Cáin Éinde Árann. For my other publications and research activities, please see my research page.
I also received an MA in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto, an MA in Early and Medieval Irish from University College Cork under the supervision of Dr Kevin Murray, and a BA in Medieval Studies and Classical Civilisation from Sweet Briar College.