The course includes modules on literature in Irish, Irish language and Irish manuscripts and palaeography. The development of the Irish language over time is also treated, as well as its appearance in the modern dialects, particularly those of Munster. An essential part of the course is the submission of a dissertation presenting research undertaken during the year. All teaching is conducted through Irish.
The course comprises instruction in aspects of Irish language and literature from the late Middle Ages to modern times, from court poetry to the poetry of Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill. It also includes a mandatory module in academic writing. The expected outcome of these modules is that you will have a knowledge of Irish language and literature that is both broad-ranging and detailed, together with a special competency in communicating scholarship and learning in a concise and attractive style.
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Why Choose This Course?
This course offers you an opportunity to gain an unrivalled combination of skills through exposure to primary sources and published texts of literary, linguistic and historic interest. The course offers unique access to special collections (digital and actual) of Irish language materials. It also combines the teaching skills and experience of some of the leading experts in palaeography, late medieval Irish literature, linguistics, and modern Irish literature. The Modern Irish Department at UCC is widely recognised as being at the forefront of Irish scholarship and our teaching staff have published in excess of 200 books, monographs and articles in the area.
Placement or Study Abroad Information
Graduates of the MA in Modern Irish have gone on to complete further research and to partake in the many and varied opportunities available nowadays to young scholars in Irish.
A recent example is that of the young scholar Mícheál Ó Drisleáin, named in 2011 at the PPI Media Awards as the Newcomer of the Year. In addition to pursuing a career in broadcasting, Mícheál is currently on the point of completing his PhD with the department based on an archive of sound-recordings made in the 1960s and 1970s.