Please tell us about your background?
– I am a native Irish speaker from the Conamara Gaeltacht. I studied Old-, Middle-, and Modern Irish language and literature at the National University of Ireland, Galway, where I was awarded my Doctorate for a critical edition of the tenth-century narrative text Síaburcharpat Con Culainn (The Spectral Chariot of Cú Chulainn).
As a Research Assistant in the “Orality and Literacy in Early Irish Literature” project, directed by Professor Hildegard L. C. Tristram, at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, I produced a diplomatic edition of Recension III of Táin Bó Cúailnge, the centre-piece of the heroic Ulster Cycle.
I have taught at the universities of Freiburg, Galway, Limerick, Montréal (Concordia), Wuppertal, and Bonn where I was Lecturer for Celtic Language from 2000 – 2003.
My publications encompass all periods of the Irish language and include An Old Irish Primer (with Wim Tigges), Stichting Uitgeverig de Keltische Draak, 2006; a collection of early twentieth-century folklore – Glórtha Ár Sinsear: Béaloideas Oirdheisceart na Gaillimhe (with Pádraig Ó Baoill) Coiscéim, 2005; and a dual language collection of oral sea-lore Bádóireacht: Bootsbau und Seefahrt in der westirischen Tradition (with Arndt Wigger), Shaker Verlag, 2012.
What will be the focus of your work at ILN?
– In Oslo, I will supplement the department’s teaching, lead seminars, as well as discuss and develop research projects and ideas. The range of courses offered shall include all periods of the Irish language from the medieval to the modern.