Fully Funded PhD Scholarship in the Department of Early Irish, Maynooth University

Fully funded PhD scholarship in the Department of Early Irish, Maynooth University

The Department of Early Irish at Maynooth University is pleased to invite applications for a 4-year PhD scholarship fully funded by the Irish Research Council on an SFI-IRC Pathway Award project, EMISoS: Early Medieval Irish Scripts on Stone - the origins and early development of Irish epigraphic culture (2023–2027), led by Dr Nora White.

Deadline: 27^th October 2023

Start date: preferably January 2024 (alternatively September 2024)

The central aim of the EMISoS project is to advance our knowledge of early Irish epigraphy within the context of late antique/early medieval epigraphic writing generally and particularly beyond the Roman frontiers in northern Europe. The lack of an up-to-date, digital catalogue is a glaring gap in the fields of both Epigraphy and Early Irish and means that this valuable resource is neglected in research on the language and history of early medieval Ireland. The OG(H)AM project is currently working on remedying this situation in relation to material in the ogham script (https://ogham.glasgow.ac.uk/). The EMISoS project aims not only to do the same for inscriptions in the insular Latin script (primarily found on cross-slabs), but to take the next, crucial step in using all of this newly generated, interdisciplinary data, along with practical experimentation in letter carving, to address new and long-standing research questions around the development of epigraphic writing in Irish.

The topic of the PhD will fall within the general framework of the project while accommodating the interests of the successful candidate. Possibilities include focusing on an assemblage associated with a particular early ecclesiastical site or other sub-group in the corpus of Latin script inscriptions. The successful candidate will be enrolled in Structured PhD Programme in the Department of Early Irish and work under the primary supervision of Dr Nora White, co-supervised by Prof. David Stifter.

The award consists of an annual stipend of €19,000 plus tuition fees. A designated workspace in the Arts and Humanities Institute at Maynooth, funds to purchase equipment for use on the project and additional research expenses will also be provided. Applicants for whom English is a second language will be required to meet English language requirements specified here.

Applicants should satisfy the following criteria:

Essential:

• A first-class or upper second-class Master’s degree in Celtic Studies or a cognate discipline that broadly aligns with the subject of research
• Ability to write well in English

Desirable:

• Some knowledge of early Irish (the student can undertake further language modules during the PhD)
• Excellent communication and organisational skills
• Some knowledge of early Irish epigraphy
• Some knowledge of digital epigraphy or TEI XML encoding
• Some understanding of medieval palaeography (the student can also undertake modules in this area during the PhD)

Please submit the following application materials by email to Nora.White@mu.ie before midnight on Friday, 27 October 2023:

• Cover letter (max. 2 pages) which should include a discussion of how you will address the PhD research project
• CV, which includes the names and contact details of two academic referees
• Writing sample (e.g. an academic essay/article or section of MA dissertation)

The Selection Panel will shortlist candidates for interview, which will take place remotely or in person in late November.

Applicants will be informed of the outcome by email.

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