The academic directors of the project are Dr. Richard Mc Mahon (MIC, Limerick) and Dr. Niall Whelehan (University of Strathclyde). They provide historical source material and guidance to the composers, singers and musicians and, on occasion, liaise with them in the process of creating the song material for the project.
Dr. Richard Mc Mahon is a Lecturer in History at MIC, Limerick. He is an expert on the history of violence, law and order in neteenth-century Ireland. His book, Homicide in pre-Famine and Famine Ireland, was described by the American Historical Review as ‘exemplary’, ‘exceptional’ and a ‘pleasure to read’. He has received major research grants from the H.F. Guggenheim Foundation, The Fulbright Commission and the Irish Research Council. He is also committed to engaging in creative and public histories and has published a number of historically-informed opinion pieces including in the Guardian and Irish Times and contributed to historical documentaries including for the Irish national braodcaster on RTÉ Radio One.
E-mail: richard.mcmahon@mic.ul.ie
Dr. Niall Whelehan is a senior lecturer at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. He has written widely on the history of modern Ireland and the Irish diaspora, mainly with a focus on the long nineteenth century. He is the author of the Changing Land: Diaspora Activism and the Irish Land War, published in 2021 and based on research funded by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship. His first book – The Dynamiters: Irish nationalism and political violence in the wider world, 1867-1900 – appeared in 2012. He holds interests in public history and recently contributed essays to the Irish Times and RTE Brainstorm, and for a number of years he has been the organiser of the Screening Irish History film series.
Advisors
The academic directors of the project are extremely grateful for the advice and guidance provided by a number of experts in the field of nineteenth-century history, music and literature, who have agreed to act as advisors either to the project as a whole or on individual compositions:
Tanja Bueltmann is Professor of International History at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
Dan Carey is Professor of English and Director of the Moore Institute at the University of Galway
Joe Cleary is Professor of English at Yale University.
Maura Cronin is Senior Lecturer in History (retired) at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.
Mel Mercier is Professor of Performing Arts at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick.
Méabh Ní Fhuartháin is Head of Irish Studies at the Centre for Irish Studies, University of Galway.
Gillian O’Brien is Reader in Modern Irish History at Liverpool John Moores University.
Cormac Ó Gráda is Professor Emeritus of Economics at University College Dublin.
Marcus Rediker is Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh.