Medieval Irish

The MPhil in Medieval Irish aims to give you the knowledge of language, literature, metrics and palaeography you need to edit and translate a medieval Irish text from the original manuscripts.



Students focus either on the Early Irish period (600–1200) or the Classical Modern Irish period (1200–1650). It is not possible to take a combination of Early Irish and Classical Modern Irish modules.



Modules in Classical Modern Irish are offered every year. Modules in Early Irish are offered in alternate years with the Diploma in Old Irish: MPhil modules in Early Irish will next be available in 2026/27.



Is This Course For Me?

Are you fascinated by the Irish language and how it has evolved over time? Are you curious to discover more about Early Irish saga or Bardic poetry? Would you like to know how to read an Irish manuscript with confidence and translate its contents? Do you want to make a contribution to our understanding of Medieval Ireland, its language and literature? If so, this course could be for you. Contact us to find out more.

The taught portion of the course extends over two semesters and consists of six contact hours per week.



For students concentrating on Early Irish, the following modules are offered:

• Early Irish prose A (1 hour)

• Early Irish prose B (1 hour)

• Early Irish poetry (1 hour)

• Early Irish law (1 hour)

• Historical linguistics (1 hour)

• Middle Irish language (1 hour)



For students concentrating on Classical Modern Irish, the following modules are offered:

• Palaeography (1 hour)

• Metrics (1 hour)

• Language (1 hour)

• Linguistic tracts (1 hour)

• Editing from manuscript (1 hour)

• Encountering the text (1 hour)



In addition, students undertake a dissertation of c. 20,000 words, written with the assistance of a supervisor, after the conclusion of the teaching term. The dissertation will normally consist of an edition and translation of a text from manuscript, though literary and historical studies are encouraged also.



Details of what modules will be offered in a given year will be available on the website of the Department of Irish in advance (https://www.tcd.ie/Irish/postgraduate/index.php).

Closing Date 30th June 2025

Students taking modules in Classical Modern Irish may study part-time over two years

Next Intake September 2025

Career Opportunities

This course prepares students to undertake independent research in an area of Medieval Irish. It may also be of interest to librarians, archivists and others who work with or have a passion for older Irish-language material.