Irish - Early & Medieval Irish

Course Outline
This course is concerned with Early Irish language and literature in the period from 600AD to 1200AD, and focuses on the study of language, grammar, texts, and their historical and literary contexts. Students are encouraged to develop their skills in close reading of sources, and in close analysis of the medieval Irish language. You will also have the opportunity to study medieval Welsh and Latin, and to take advanced courses in literary studies, palaeography, and textual editing. Provision has been made for supervised independent research to allow you to broaden and deepen your scholarly interests, while a 20,000-word thesis gives scope to postgraduates to complete a significant piece of work in a specific area of interest.

On successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

translate selected Early Irish texts

comment grammatically on particular words, phrases or sentences within these texts

transcribe Early Irish texts from manuscript sources

write and present a research paper on an agreed topic

translate selected Medieval Welsh texts

submit the results of supervised research in a dissertation of 20,000 words, with full scholarly apparatus

Why Choose This Course
The MA in Early and Medieval Irish offers great training in the language, literature and culture of medieval Ireland, providing opportunities for postgraduates to study the medieval Irish language in depth, as well as receiving training in Latin and medieval Welsh. You can develop your scholarly potential by directed independent study and taught modules, working with staff who are internationally recognised in areas such as medieval Irish Christianity, mythology, palaeography, textual editing, and legendary history. MA students will join a large cohort of international and Irish students already engaged on postgraduate studies in the Department of Early and Medieval Irish, UCC.

Placement or Study Abroad Information
Upon successful completion of the Master of Arts in Early and Medieval Irish, students often go on to PhD degrees at home and abroad. In recent years, many of our students have received scholarships to study for further degrees in North America, Scotland, Germany and Wales, as well as in Ireland. As we have numerous formal links with higher education institutions overseas, students who avail of the opportunity to pursue their doctoral studies in UCC may elect to spend some time abroad as part of their course.

MODULES

Students take 90 credits as follows:

Part I

CC6003 Early Irish Texts (10 credits)
plus 40 credits from the following:

CC6004 Medieval Welsh (10 credits)
CC6005 Research Seminar (10 credits)
CC6006 Special Topic (10 credits)
CC6007 Research Presentation (10 credits)
CC6008 Palaeography and Manuscript-based Research (10 credits)
CC6011 Continuing Old Irish (10 credits)

Part II

CC6010 MA Dissertation (40 credits)
Note: The Dissertation, of no less than 20,000 words, must be on a topic chosen in consultation with the Department. The Dissertation may be written through the medium of Irish or English.

For further details and descriptions of the modules, see the Postgraduate College Calendar

Postgraduate Diploma in Early and Medieval Irish
Candidates who pass Part I and opt not to proceed to Part II of the Master's programme may register for CC6002 (10 credits) and, on successful completion of CC6002, be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Early and Medieval Irish. Students must submit CC6002 (comprising of an Annotated Bibliography and Project) to the Department by the second Friday in September in the same academic year or may register for CC6002 in the following academic year (part-time), following completion of Part I.

Candidates who pass Part I and opt to proceed to Part II of the Master's programme and who fail, or fail to submit, Part II may register for CC6002 in the following academic year (part-time), and upon successful completion, will be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Early and Medieval Irish.

A student who subsequently applies to continue to Master's level must do so within 5 academic years of successful completion of Part 1.

Postgraduate Certificate in Early and Medieval Irish
Candidates who pass at least 30 credits of taught modules may opt to exit the programme and be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Early and Medieval Irish.

Requirements
Candidates should normally hold a Second Class Honours Grade I in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) or equivalent in Early and Medieval Irish, Celtic Civilisation or Gaeilge. Graduates from cognate disciplines will also be considered.

Candidates who hold a Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) will also be considered under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) subject to the approval of the programme selection committee.

All potential candidates must have previously studied Medieval Irish at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

English Language Requirements
Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university approved English language requirements available here.

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland

Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements, please find our grades comparison by country here.

International/non-EU applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure please visit our how to apply pages for international students. In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

Not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above.

For more information please contact the International Office.

How Do I Apply
1. Choose Course
Firstly choose your course. Applicants can apply for up to two courses under one application. Details of taught courses are available on our online prospectus.

2. Apply Online
Once you have chosen your course you can apply online at the online application portal. Applicants will need to apply before the course closing date. There is a non-refundable €50 application fee for all courses apart from the Education - Professional Master of Education - (Secondary School/Post-Primary Teacher Training) which has a €100 application fee.

Applicants for the Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health Nursing must apply on the PAC website when the programme opens for applications.

3. Gather Supporting Documents
Scanned copies of the following documents will need to be uploaded to the online application portal in support of your application. Applicants may need to produce the original documents if you are accepted onto a course and register at UCC.

Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC
Any supplementary items requested for your course.
Please log into the online application portal for more details.

4. Application processing timeline
Our online application portal opens for applications for most courses in early November of each year. Check specific course details.

5. Rounds
For courses that are in the rounds system (Irish and EU applicants), please check the rounds closing dates via link below.

Questions on how to apply?
Please use our web enquiry form to contact us.

Additional Requirements (All Applicants)
Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this programme. This will include the following questions:

You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.

Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.

Please detail your research interest(s).
Please add the name and email address of 2 referees.

The closing date for non-EU applications is 15 June

The taught modules are generally assessed by continuous assessment and by end-of-year examinations. In palaeography and the supervised-study modules, assessment is by essay/project while in the research presentation, public delivery to an academic audience is also assessed. The MA dissertation is graded by an external examiner.

Full details and regulations governing examinations for each course will be contained in the Marks and Standards Book and for each module in the Book of Modules.

Full-time 1 year, Part-time 2 years.

Additional Teaching Mode Information
The part-time option will be taught during weekday working hours over 2 years.

Start Date 3 September 2020

Skills and Careers Information
An MA degree in Early and Medieval Irish, besides preparing you for further study in the field of Celtic Studies, can also provide an additional qualification — and a mark of distinction — for students pursuing advanced degrees in such fields as classics, English, history or medieval studies. It is also a useful qualification for those seeking employment in the heritage and broadcasting sectors.