Home › Research▻People▻Geography & Archaeology

Geography & Archaeology

Professor Elizabeth Fitzpatrick

Ph.D.

Contact Details

Personal Professor
Archaeology
Room 212
Arts/Science Building
NUI Galway

T: Ext. 2670
E: elizabeth.fitzpatrick@nuigalway.ie
 
researcher

Biography

Elizabeth FitzPatrick holds a personal chair (2013) in Archaeology. She communicates the study of the past as an essential humanity.  She received her PhD from Trinity College Dublin (1997). Before joining NUI Galway in 1997 she worked with the Carroll Institute, London, and with the Archaeological Survey of Ireland. She is a  director of the Discovery Programme (Centre for Archaeology and Innovation) and a fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.Prof. FitzPatrick teaches historical archaeology, with a focus on medieval and early modern Ireland. She has a particular interest in the knowledge that can be acquired at the interface of disciplines and has pioneered the research of Gaelic peoples of north Atlantic Europe, introducing new areas of enquiry to archaeology and Celtic studies. Her research in this regard was recognised in a Fulbright Visiting Scholarship in the Humanities (2012) during which she taught a course at Harvard and lectured at the Mahindra Humanities Centre, and at Glucksman-Ireland House, New York University. She has achieved a high level of success in postgraduate supervision attached to her research area. She currently supervises nine postgraduate students, from PhD to Higher Diploma, and she has successfully supervised ten PhDs, seven of whom received IRC scholarships.  

Her research concerns topographies and archaeologies of power, place making, landscape biography and concepts of territory among Gaelic peoples of north Atlantic Europe 800-1600 AD.  She has published and lectured, nationally and internationally, on landscape and settlement in medieval Gaelic kingdoms and lordships bringing back into view, seasonal assembly places and inauguration sites of elites,  the landholdings, residences, churches and schools of service families on the mensal lands of the lordships, as well as an understanding of Gaelic cultural practices relating to boundaries, hunting grounds and natural resources. She has excavated a late medieval Gaelic brehon law school in the Burren of north Co. Clare (Royal Irish Academy 2007, 2008, 2010), and conducted several field studies of learned family settlements throughout Ireland. Her work on assembly places has made a significant contribution to the study of medieval governance in the European landscape and she is on the advisory boards of the Assembly Sites of Wales project at UCL, and Assemblies in Iceland (Icelandic Science Foundation) at the Institute of Archaeology Iceland (Fornleifastofnun Íslands). She has published (2015) with The Assembly Project, a research consortium funded by HERA which explored the archaeological diversity of assembly and administration in north-western European societies after the collapse of the Roman Empire (Debating the Thing in the North: the assembly project II, Journal of the North Atlantic, Special Volume 8:52-6).  

The cumulative intellectual legacies of this research have driven a new collaborative project that brings the strands of her longterm research into a single space. An Atlas of Finn mac Cumaill’s Places, explores the link which she has discovered between special boundary places of medieval territories and landscapes of enriched natural and cultural resources, celebrated in the Finn Cycle of Tales as the liminal world inhabited by the warrior-hunter Finn and his fían or warrior band. The Finn paradigm encompasses Ireland, Isle of Man and Scotland and the landscape of mainland Celtic Europe.     

Prof. FitzPatrick also leads cross-disciplinary projects that are important to exploring the cultural identity of Ireland, among which are the Royal Irish Academy (with J. Kelly eds) 2015 Food and drink in Ireland, and 2011 Domestic life in Ireland, arising out of her role as archaeology editor with Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy (2007-15). In 2013 she organised a cross-border conference about identity and cultural practice, hosted by NUIG and QUB, at the Clinton Centre, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, which will be published as Becoming and belonging in Ireland: essays on identity and cultural practice (with E. Campbell and A. Horning). Her public outreach initiatives include the ongoing lunchtime lecture series Natural and Human Heritages at Galway City Museum, which she originated and led in 2014 and which showcases the research of the School of Archaeology and Geography in a public forum. She also lectures nationwide to local societies and she is a regular contributor to summer schools, such as the  Burren Law School 2015.                                                                             
  

Research Interests

Professor Elizabeth FitzPatrick's research concerns historical archaeology, with a focus on the archaeology and landscape history of medieval Gaelic peoples of north Atlantic Europe, especially place-making and settlement, landscape biography and topographies and archaeologies of power in Ireland. Major publications include 2015 Assembly places and elite collective identities in medieval Ireland, 2009 Native enclosed settlement and the problem of the Irish ring-fort, 2004 Royal inauguration in Gaelic Ireland: a cultural landscape study, 2004 and (with D. Edwards and P.J. Duffy, eds.) 2001 Gaelic Ireland: land, lordship and settlement c. 1250-c. 1650. 


Research Areas 

  • Formation of medieval territories
  • Territorial boundaries and topographies of power
  • Mythologies and place-making
  • Royal demesnes, mensal lands and settlements of service families
  • Assembly places and practices
  • Hunting grounds and natural resources
  • Churches and sacred places                                                             


Current Project

Finn mac Cumaill’s Places: boundaries and landscapes of enriched natural resources


Dr Ronan Hennessy and Dr Paul Naessens on Carn Seefin, Keeraunageeragh Mountain, Connemara

Place-names referring to the Celtic mythical warrior-hunter Finn mac Cumaill and his fían or wild band in Ireland, Isle of Man and Scotland encode knowledge of enriched natural resources and physical boundaries in the landscape. Finn translates as something white, bright, lustrous, fair, blessed, enlightened and self-revealed. The project proposes an explanation for the use of this word and its Common Celtic vindo-s in relation to particular places in the European landscape. It is found in place-names from Knockfin on Gorumna Island in south Connemara to Vindia in Asia Minor, and notably in Celtic settlements across Europe that became major Roman border forts. Finn’s places have very distinctive, geologies, archaeologies and wildlife ecologies. They are characterised by geological unconformity - contact zones between igneous and sedimentary or metasedimentary rock. As landforms, Finn’s places are epitomised by bareness (formaoil ‘very bare place’)and are mostly hills in areas of considerable natural and cultural resources. Many of them have volcanic elements and are crowned by cairns, variously called Seefin (Suidhe Fhinn ‘Finn’s seat’), Knockfin (Cnoc Fhinn ‘Finn’s Hill’). Places associated with Finn are also caves, such as Fingal’s Cave on the Scottish Isle of Arran, and causeways like the World Heritage Giant’s Causeway on the Co. Antrim coastline of Northern Ireland. As exceptional landscapes, often of great beauty, distinguished by woodland cover and mineral enrichment, they were highly desired by early medieval kings and later medieval lords as personal demesnes and mensal lands, as hunting grounds and venues for assemblies and battles. The presence there too of prehistoric ritual and funerary monuments indicates prehistoric precedence in the recognition of these places as wondrous. The project is a collaboration between landscape archaeology, Celtic mythology, geological heritage and wildlife ecology. It uses Remotely Piloted Aerial Survey as a key methodology. 

Projector Director: Prof. Elizabeth FitzPatrick, Archaeology, NUI Galway.
Research Partners: Dr Ruth Carden consultant wildlife ecologist; Dr Ronan Hennessy, geologist and senior technician in GIS at the Ryan Institute, NUI Galway; Dr Paul Naessens, archaeologist, Western Aerial Survey and Photography Solutions; Prof. Joseph F. Nagy, Medieval Celtic Languages and Literatures/Comparative Folklore and Mythology, UCLA.
Project Advisors: Prof. Stephen Driscoll, Director of the Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies, University of Glasgow; Dr Peter McNiven, Celtic and Gaelic, University of Glasgow.
Postgraduate Student Associates: Colette Allen and Richard Long (Archaeology, NUI Galway).  

Project Publications

  • 2015 FitzPatrick, E., Hennessy, R., Naessens, P. and Nagy, J.F. Decoding Finn mac Cumaill’s places. Archaeology Ireland 29/3, 26-31.
  • 2015 FitzPatrick, E.  Assembly places and elite collective identities in medieval Ireland. Journal of The North Atlantic 8, 52-68.
  • 2013 FitzPatrick, E., Formaoil na Fiann: hunting preserves and assembly places in Gaelic Ireland. Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium 32, 95-118.  

Current Project

Gaelic Service Kindreds of Ireland: landscapes and lifeways

Inishmore Island, Lough Gill, Co. Sligo where the Ó Curnín poets to the Ó Ruairc chiefs of Bréifne lived

This project uses a series of field-based studies in Ireland to reveal where Gaelic professional families who served the courts of Gaelic lords in law, medicine, poetry and traditional history, lived and conducted schools c. 1200-1600 AD. It focuses on the landscape and settlement archaeology of their landholdings and shows that they were settled on dynastic church lands and mensal lands (lucht tighe) in  territorial boundary zones. The project includes the results of excavations at the Burren law school settlement of the Ó Dubhdábhoireann brehon lawyers to the Ó Lochlainn lord of the Burren and the Ó Deóradháin lawyers at Ballyorley, Co Wexford, in addition to  number of surveys conducted throughout Ireland on the former landholdings of, among others,  the poetic family of Ó Dálaigh of Muinter Bháire on the Sheepshead peninsula, Co. Cork, The landscape approach indicates that views of early medieval royal demesnes can be achieved through the lens of later medieval service family holdings on the mensal lands of lordships. 

Projector Director: Prof. Elizabeth FitzPatrick
Research Partners: Dr Richard Clutterbuck, Dr Eve Campbell, Cóilín Ó Drisceoil (Kikenny Archaeology)

Project Publications

  • 2015 FitzPatrick, E., Ollamh, biatach, comharba: lifeways of Gaelic learned families in medieval and early modern Ireland, in L. Breatnach, R. Ó hUiginn, D. McManus and K. Simms (eds), Proceedings XIV International Congress of Celtic Studies, Maynooth 2011, 165-89. Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies.
  • 2014 The O'Davorens of Cahermacnaghten, Burren, Co. Clare. Royal Irish Aacdemy soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/the-royal-irish-academy/the-o-davorens-of/sets
  • 2013 The landscape and settlements of the Uí Dhálaigh poets of Muinter Bháire, in S. Duffy (ed.), Princes, prelates and poets in medieval Ireland: essays in honour of Katharine Simms, 460-80. Four Courts Press, Dublin.
  • 2013 FitzPatrick, E. and Clutterbuck, R., Cabhail Tighe Breac, Cahermacnaghten, Co. Clare, in I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations Bulletin: Excavations 2010, 26-7. Wordwell, Bray.
  • 2011 FitzPatrick, E., Cahermacnaghten, in I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations Bulletin: Excavations 2008, 41-3. Wordwell, Dublin.
  • 2008 FitzPatrick, E., Excavation of a building at Cahermacnaghten, Co. Clare, in I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations Bulletin: Excavations 2007, no.150. Wordwell, Bray.

Recent Invited International Papers

  • 2014 Seasonality and Continuity in the Assembly Places and Practices of Gaelic Elites in Medieval Ireland. From Viking Camps to Saxon Assemblies: Temporary and Seasonal Sites and Settlement in Medieval Europe, The Society for Medieval Archaeology Conference, University of Oxford. (5-7 December 2014)
  • 2014 Assembly Places and Hunting Grounds in Medieval Gaelic Ireland. Royal Scone: A Scottish Medieval Royal Centre in Europe, Perth, Scotland. The Royal Society of Edinburgh. (27-29 November 2014)
  • 2014 Finn mac Cumaill's places: Archaeology, Mythology and Natural Resources in Gaelic Ireland. University of California Celtic Studies Conference (13-15 March)  
  • 2014 An Atlas of Finn mac Cumaill's Places. 2nd International Finn Cycle Conference, University of Glasgow (11-12 August)  
  • 2013 Assembly Places and Collective Identities in Medieval Gaelic Ireland. The Assembly Project (TAP), workshop, Hall, Austria (10-11 May).  
  • 2013 Gathering-places and Collective Identities in Medieval and Early Modern Gaelic Ireland. The Graduate Center, City University, New York (15 April).  
  • 2013 Assembly Places and Wild Animal Coursing in Medieval Gaelic Ireland. Celtic Languages and Literatures. Harvard University (12 April).  
  • 2012 The Mindful Past: Finding Medieval Gaelic Royal Demesnes in Ireland. Mahindra Humanities Centre, Harvard University (19 October).  
  • 2012 Antique Landscape and Gaelic Learned Families in Medieval Ireland. Thirty-Second Annual Harvard Celtic Colloquium (5-7 October).

Postgraduate Research Supervision 

Current PhD 
  • Peter Casby, Living trees in created environments of Gaelic Ireland c. 700-1600 AD. Galway Research Fellow.
  • Elizabeth Gray, Material culture of high-status drinking ritual in medieval and early modern Gaelic Ireland. IRC scholar.
  • Richard Gray, Settlement clusters at parish churches in Ireland, 1200-1600 AD. 
M. Litt.
  • Colette Allen, Buí: the Cailleach Bhéarra in landscapes of kingship and assembly.

Completed PhDs 

  • 2015 Richard Clutterbuck, Rural landscapes of improvement in Ireland, 1650 to 1850: an archaeological landscape study. IRC Scholar
  • 2012 Eve Campbell, Displacement and relocation in early modern Ireland: studies of transplantation settlements in Connacht and Clare. IRC Scholar. 
  • 2012 Yvonne McDermott, Patronage and observance: the Franciscans and Dominicans in the lordships of Mac Uilliam Uachtair and Mac Uilliam Íochtair. 
  • 2010 Christy Cunniffe, Clonfert: genesis, development and decline of a Gaelic cathedral settlement.
  • 2010 Siobhán McDermott, Negotiating the colonial process: settlement and society in Truagh, County Monaghan c. 1591-1800. IRC Scholar. 
  • 2009 Paul Naessens, The Uí Fhlaithbheartaigh Gaelic lordship of Iarchonnacht: medieval lordly settlement on the Atlantic seaboard. IRC Scholar. 
  • 2008 James McKeon Anglo-Norman frontier urban settlement in the Plantagenet realm: studies from south Connacht. IRC Scholar. 
  • 2006 Diarmuid Ó Seaneachain, English plantation settlement and the lost indigenous landscapes of Ulster and Chesapeake Bay in the sixteenth century. IRC Scholar. 

Research Projects

  Project Start Date End Date
THE EVOLUTION OF IRISH RURAL LANDSCAPES 1650 TO 1850 DR ELIZABETH FITZPATRICK IRCHSS R CLUTTERBUCK 01-OCT-10 30-SEP-13
GAELIC HEREDITARY LEGAL FAMILIES E FITZPATRICK 01-JUN-07 30-SEP-09
IRCHSS FELLOWSHIP 2006 -07 DR E.FITZPATRICK 01-SEP-06 24-AUG-09
MILLENIUM FUND 2002 IRISH EARLS IN ROME EF 01-JAN-03 29-NOV-04
882 ARCH AND FUND WADDELL 01-JAN-94 31-DEC-20
938 NHC GEP E FITZPATRICK ARCH 30-AUG-98 31-DEC-13
GENERAL ACCOUNT ELIZABETH FITZPATRICK 20-FEB-13 20-FEB-18
IRC HIGH STATUS DRINKING RITUAL IN MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN GAELIC IRELAND AND SCOTLAND ELIZABETH GRAY 01-OCT-12 30-SEP-15

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2015) 'Assembly Places and Elite Collective Identities in Medieval Ireland'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2015) 'Assembly Places and Elite Collective Identities in Medieval Ireland'. Journal Of The North Atlantic, 8 :52-68 [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2014) 'Gods make their own importance'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2014) 'Gods make their own importance'. Proceedings Of The Royal Irish Academy, 114C :vii-x [Details]
(2012) 'The true, the beautiful and the old'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2012) 'The true, the beautiful and the old'. Proceedings Of The Royal Irish Academy, :vii-xi [Details]
(2009) 'Native Enclosed Settlement and the Problem of the Irish Ring-fort'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2009) 'Native Enclosed Settlement and the Problem of the Irish Ring-fort'. Medieval Archaeology, 53 :271-307 [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2009) 'Editorial'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2009) 'Editorial'. Proceedings Of The Royal Irish Academy, 109 :i-iv [Details]
(2007) 'Interpreting a Cultural Landscape: a case for seaweed-harvesting at Aughris, Co Sligo'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2007) 'Interpreting a Cultural Landscape: a case for seaweed-harvesting at Aughris, Co Sligo'. Journal Of Irish Archaeology, 16 :11-33 [Details]
(2007) 'Editorial'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2007) 'Editorial'. Proceedings Of The Royal Irish Academy, 107 :i-iii [Details]
(2001) 'The Gathering Place of Tír Fhiachrach? Archaeological and Folkloric Investigations at Aughris, Co Sligo'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2001) 'The Gathering Place of Tír Fhiachrach? Archaeological and Folkloric Investigations at Aughris, Co Sligo'. Proceedings Of The Royal Irish Academy, 101c :67-105 [Details]
(1998) 'The Inauguration of Tairdelbach Ó Conchobair at Áth an Termoinn'
FitzPatrick, E. (1998) 'The Inauguration of Tairdelbach Ó Conchobair at Áth an Termoinn'. Peritia, 12 :351-358 [Details]

Books

  Year Publication
(2004) Royal inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c.1100-1600: a cultural landscape study.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2004) Royal inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c.1100-1600: a cultural landscape study. Woodbridge: Boydell. [Details]
(1998) The medieval churches of County Offaly.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick and Caiman O'Brien (1998) The medieval churches of County Offaly. Dublin: Government of Ireland. [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2016) 'The last kings of Ireland: material expressions of Gaelic lordship c.1300-1400 A.D'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2016) 'The last kings of Ireland: material expressions of Gaelic lordship c.1300-1400 A.D' In: Medieval and Early Modern Representations of Authority in Scotland and the British Isles. Farnham: Ashgate. [Details]
(2014) 'A Gaelic inauguration landscape at Cornashee/Sheebeg, Co. Fermanagh'
Eileen Murphy and Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2014) 'A Gaelic inauguration landscape at Cornashee/Sheebeg, Co. Fermanagh' In: An Archaeological Survey of County Fermanagh, vol. 1, part 2. Belfast: The Northern Ireland Environment Agency. [Details]
(2013) 'The landscape and settlements of the Uí Dhálaigh poets of Muinter Bháire'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2013) 'The landscape and settlements of the Uí Dhálaigh poets of Muinter Bháire' In: Princes, prelates and poets in medieval Ireland: essays in honour of Katharine Simms. Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
(2011) 'Evoking the white mare: the cult landscape of Sgiath Gabhra and its medieval perception in Gaelic Fir Mhanach'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick, E. Murphy, R. McHugh, C. Donnelly (2011) 'Evoking the white mare: the cult landscape of Sgiath Gabhra and its medieval perception in Gaelic Fir Mhanach' In: Landscapes of cult and kingship. Dublin: Four Courts Press, Dublin. [Details]
(2011) 'Aughris headland'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2011) 'Aughris headland' In: Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape. Cork: Cork University Press. [Details]
(2010) 'Memorialising Gaelic Ireland: the curious case of the Ballyshannon fragments and the Irish monuments at San Pietro in Montorio, Rome'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2010) 'Memorialising Gaelic Ireland: the curious case of the Ballyshannon fragments and the Irish monuments at San Pietro in Montorio, Rome' In: Imeacht na n-Iarlaí University of Ulster. Derry: Guildhall Press. [Details]
(2006) 'The material world of the parish'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2006) 'The material world of the parish' In: The parish in medieval and early modern Ireland: community, territory and building (Conference Proceedings). Dublin: Four Courts Press, Dublin. [Details]
(2005) 'The landscape of Máel Sechnaill’s rígdál at Ráith Áeda, 859 AD'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2005) 'The landscape of Máel Sechnaill’s rígdál at Ráith Áeda, 859 AD' In: Above and beyond: essays in Memory of Leo Swan Wordwell . Bray: Wordwell. [Details]
(2004) 'The finds from Galway city: an overview'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2004) 'The finds from Galway city: an overview' In: Archaeological investigations in Galway City, 1987-1998 Wordwell, Bray. Bray: Wordwell. [Details]
(2004) 'Buildings and architecture'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick and Paul Walsh (2004) 'Buildings and architecture' In: Archaeological investigations in Galway City, 1987-1998 Wordwell, Bray. Bray: Wordwell. [Details]
(2004) 'Parley sites of Ó Néill and Ó Domhnaill'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2004) 'Parley sites of Ó Néill and Ó Domhnaill' In: Regions and rulers in Ireland, 1100-1650: essays for Kenneth Nicholls. Dublin: Four Courts Press, Dublin. [Details]
(2004) 'Archaeological investigations in Galway city: summary conclusions'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick and Paul Walsh (2004) 'Archaeological investigations in Galway city: summary conclusions' In: Archaeological investigations in Galway City, 1987-1998 Wordwell. Bray: Wordwell. [Details]
(2004) 'Background to the Galway excavations project'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2004) 'Background to the Galway excavations project' In: Archaeological investigations in Galway City, 1987-1998 Wordwell. Bray: Wordwell. [Details]
(2004) 'Royal inauguration mounds in medieval Ireland: antique landscape and tradition'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2004) 'Royal inauguration mounds in medieval Ireland: antique landscape and tradition' In: Assembly places and practices in medieval Europe Dublin (Conference Proceedings) . Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
(2003) 'Leaca and Gaelic inauguration ritual in medieval Ireland'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2003) 'Leaca and Gaelic inauguration ritual in medieval Ireland' In: The Stone of Destiny: artefact and icon Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Monograph Series 22, Historic Scotland. Edinburgh: Historic Scotland. [Details]
(2003) 'On the trail of an ancient highway: rediscovering Dála’s road'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2003) 'On the trail of an ancient highway: rediscovering Dála’s road' In: Lost and found: discovering Ireland's past Wordwell, Dublin. Dublin: Wordwell. [Details]
(2003) 'Royal inauguration assembly and the Church in Medieval Ireland'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2003) 'Royal inauguration assembly and the Church in Medieval Ireland' In: Political assemblies in the earlier middle ages Studies in the Early Middle Ages 7 Brepols, Turnhout (Conference Proceedings). Turnhout: Brepols. [Details]
(2001) 'Assembly and inauguration places of the Burkes in late medieval Connacht'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2001) 'Assembly and inauguration places of the Burkes in late medieval Connacht' In: Gaelic Ireland c1250-c1650: Land, lordship and settlement, Four Courts Press, Dublin (Conference Proceedings). Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
(2001) 'Settlement studies: the architectural and archaeological record'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2001) 'Settlement studies: the architectural and archaeological record' In: Gaelic Ireland (Conference Proceedings). Dublin: Four Courts Press, Dublin. [Details]
(1998) 'The early Church in Offaly'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (1998) 'The early Church in Offaly' In: Offaly: history and society. Dublin: Geography Publications, Dublin. [Details]
(1994) 'The Archaeology of Durrow'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (1994) 'The Archaeology of Durrow' In: Durrow in history. Tullamore: Esker Press. [Details]

Conference Publications

  Year Publication
(2015) Proceedings of the XIVth International Celtic Congress, Maynooth 2011
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2015) Ollamh, biatach, comharba: lifeways of Gaelic learned families in medieval and early modern Ireland Proceedings of the XIVth International Celtic Congress, Maynooth 2011 [Details]
(2013) Proceedings of Harvard Celtic Colloquium 32, 95-118
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2013) Formaoil na Fiann: hunting preserves and assembly places in Gaelic Ireland Proceedings of Harvard Celtic Colloquium 32, 95-118 [ARAN Link] [Details]

Published Reports

  Year Publication
(2013) Excavations at Cabhail Tighe Breac, Cahermacnaghten, Co. Clare in I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations Bulletin: Excavations 2010.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick and Richard Clutterbuck (2013) Excavations at Cabhail Tighe Breac, Cahermacnaghten, Co. Clare in I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations Bulletin: Excavations 2010. Wordwell, Dublin. [Details]
(2011) Cahermacnaghten: late medieval/early post-medieval building. In I. Bennett Excavations Bulletin: Excavations 2008.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2011) Cahermacnaghten: late medieval/early post-medieval building. In I. Bennett Excavations Bulletin: Excavations 2008. Wordwell, Dublin. [Details]
(2008) Excavation of a building at Cahermacnaghten, Co. Clare, in I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations Bulletin: Excavations 2007.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2008) Excavation of a building at Cahermacnaghten, Co. Clare, in I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations Bulletin: Excavations 2007. Wordwell, Bray. [Details]
(2003) Excavation of an enclosure at Aughris, Co Sligo. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations Bulletin: Excavations 2001.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2003) Excavation of an enclosure at Aughris, Co Sligo. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations Bulletin: Excavations 2001. Wordwell, Bray. [Details]

Edited Books

  Year Publication
(2015) Food and drink in Ireland.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick and James Kelly (Ed.). (2015) Food and drink in Ireland Food and drink in Ireland. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. [Details]
(2011) Domestic life in Ireland.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick and James Kelly (Ed.). (2011) Domestic life in Ireland Domestic life in Ireland. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. [Details]
(2006) The parish in medieval and early modern Ireland: community, territory and building.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick and Raymond Gillespie (Ed.). (2006) The parish in medieval and early modern Ireland: community, territory and building The parish in medieval and early modern Ireland: community, territory and building. Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
(2005) John Quincy Adams, Dermot Mac Morrough or the conquest of Ireland: an historical tale of the twelfth century.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick with Martin J. Burke and Olivia Hamilton (Ed.). (2005) John Quincy Adams, Dermot Mac Morrough or the conquest of Ireland: an historical tale of the twelfth century John Quincy Adams, Dermot Mac Morrough or the conquest of Ireland: an historical tale of the twelfth century. New York: Maunsell Academica Press. [Details]
(2004) Archaeological investigations in Galway City 1987-1998.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick, Madeline O'Brien and Paul Walsh (Ed.). (2004) Archaeological investigations in Galway City 1987-1998 Archaeological investigations in Galway City 1987-1998. Dublin: Wordwell. [Details]
(2001) Gaelic Ireland c.1250 - c.1650: land, lordship and settlement.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick with P.J. Duffy and D. Edwards (Ed.). (2001) Gaelic Ireland c.1250 - c.1650: land, lordship and settlement Gaelic Ireland c.1250 - c.1650: land, lordship and settlement. Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]

Other Journals

  Year Publication
(2015) 'Decoding Finn mac Cumaill's places'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick, Ronan Hennessy, Joseph F. Nagy and Paul Naessens (2015) 'Decoding Finn mac Cumaill's places' Archaeology Ireland, :26-31. [Details]
(2008) 'Antiquarian scholarship and the archaeology of Cahermacnaghten, Burren, Co. Clare'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2008) 'Antiquarian scholarship and the archaeology of Cahermacnaghten, Burren, Co. Clare' The Other Clare, 32 :58-66. [Details]
(2007) 'San Pietro in Montorio: burial place of the exiled Irish in Rome, 1608-1623'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2007) 'San Pietro in Montorio: burial place of the exiled Irish in Rome, 1608-1623' History Ireland, 15 (4) :46-51. [Details]
(2001) 'An Tulach Tinóil: Gathering-sites and meeting-culture in Gaelic lordships'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2001) 'An Tulach Tinóil: Gathering-sites and meeting-culture in Gaelic lordships' History Ireland, 9 (1) :22-26. [Details]
(1997) 'The Historic assembly sites of Tulach Uí Dheadhaidh and Carn Mhic Táil'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (1997) 'The Historic assembly sites of Tulach Uí Dheadhaidh and Carn Mhic Táil' The Other Clare, 21 :17-19. [Details]
(1997) 'The crowning hand of God'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (1997) 'The crowning hand of God' Archaeology Ireland, 11 (1) :21-23. [Details]
(1994) 'A monument to Archbishop Thomas Walsh in the Town of Cashel, Co Tipperary'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (1994) 'A monument to Archbishop Thomas Walsh in the Town of Cashel, Co Tipperary' Journal of the Butler Society, 3 (4) :562-564. [Details]
(1993) 'Raiding and warring in monastic Ireland'
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (1993) 'Raiding and warring in monastic Ireland' History Ireland, 1 (3) :13-18. [Details]

Community Engagement Publications

  Year Publication
(1995) The Wet Hillside of Saint Lugna: a history of leitir Lugna, Slieve Bloom, County Offaly.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (1995) The Wet Hillside of Saint Lugna: a history of leitir Lugna, Slieve Bloom, County Offaly. Ferbane: Community Engagement Publications [Details]

Encyclopedia Entry

  Year Publication
(2005) Medieval Ireland: an encyclopedia, 11-13, 153, 230-1, 389-91, 412-15 .
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2005) Medieval Ireland: an encyclopedia, 11-13, 153, 230-1, 389-91, 412-15 . New York; London: Encyclopedia Entry [Details]
(2003) The encyclopedia of Ireland, 159, 513-4.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2003) The encyclopedia of Ireland, 159, 513-4. Dublin: Encyclopedia Entry [Details]

Field Guide

  Year Publication
(2012) Burren: a guide to the medieval landscape.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2012) Burren: a guide to the medieval landscape. Dublin: Field Guide [Details]
(1995) The Care and Conservation of Graveyards.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (1995) The Care and Conservation of Graveyards. Dublin: Field Guide [Details]

Online Multimedia

  Year Publication
(2014) Natural and Human Heritages http://www.ouririshheritage.org/page/natural_human_heritages_lecture_series_vodcasts-2?path=0p4p2p42p.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2014) Natural and Human Heritages http://www.ouririshheritage.org/page/natural_human_heritages_lecture_series_vodcasts-2?path=0p4p2p42p. Online Multimedia [Details]

Review Articles

  Year Publication
(2006) Author's response. Reviews in History.
Elizabeth FitzPatrick (2006) Author's response. Reviews in History. Review Articles [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
1997 British Academy/Royal Irish Academy Exchange Scholarship British Academy and Royal Irish Academy
2003 Bilateral Cultural Agreement Travel Bursary Dept Foreign Affairs
2006 Government of Ireland Research Fellow in the Humanities and Social Sciences IRCHSS
2012 Fulbright Scholar Award in Humanities Fulbright Commission

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
Medieval Settlement Research Group, Cambridge Member /
Irish Environmental History Network (IEHN) member /
Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement Member /
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Fellow /

Committees

  Committee Function From / To
Discovery Programme Advisory and election of Directorate 11-JAN-16 / 01-JAN-20
Advisory Board, Assembly Sites in Wales (UCL) Member 05-DEC-14 /
Editorial Board Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium Reviewing papers for publication 01-OCT-13 / 31-OCT-16
Chair, Graduate Research Committee in Archaeology, NUI Galway Chair 01-SEP-14 /
Advisory Board, Assemblies in Iceland 850-1950. Icelandic Science Foundation Member 01-JAN-14 /
Chair, Research Committee, School of Geography and Archaeology, NUI Galway Chair 02-SEP-13 /

Employment

  Employer Position From / To
Carroll Institute of Irish History Historical Researcher /
Office of Public Works Archaeologist /
Archaeological Survey of Ireland Archaeologist /
NUI Galway Lecturer Above The Bar /

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
1997 TCD PhD Medieval archaeology

Languages

  Language
French
Irish

Community Engagement

  Title Type From / To
Outreach Natural and Human Heritages at Galway City Museum /
Advocacy http://www.ouririshheritage.org/page/natural_human_heritages_lecture_series_vodcasts-2?path=0p4p2p42p /

Teaching Interests

I teach historical archaeology at undergraduate level, and place studies and medieval landscape archaeology at postgraduate level. 

UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING 2015-16
  • AR337 Gaelic Peoples: Identity and Cultural Practice (3BA)
  • AR250 Sacred Places and Christian Buildings in Medieval Ireland (2BA)
  • AR1100 Working with Archaeology and Human Heritages (1BA) 
POSTGRADUATE TEACHING 2015-16
  • AR6100 Reading the Past in Practice (HDip)
  • AR6101 Dissertation in Archaeology and Place (HDip)
  • Module B Landscape Archaeology (MA)

Current Postgraduate Students (Taught)

  Name Degree Primary Supervisor
Marie Moran HIGHER DIPLOMA (LEVEL 8) Y
Mary Elanor Pereira HIGHER DIPLOMA (LEVEL 8) Y
Suzanne Hogan HIGHER DIPLOMA (LEVEL 8) Y
James McKeon-McDonnell HIGHER DIPLOMA (LEVEL 8) Y
Sonya White-Maher HIGHER DIPLOMA (LEVEL 8) Y
Deirdre Gloster HIGHER DIPLOMA (LEVEL 8) Y

Recent Postgraduate Students

  Graduation Name Degree Primary Supervisor
2005 Grainne Melia Masters N
2009 Paul Naessens PhD N
2010 Siobhán McDermott PhD N
2004 John Malcolm M.Lit
2013 Katherine Sexton Masters N
1999 Sinead Armstrong M.Lit Y
1999 Fiona White M.Lit Y
2012 Eve Campbell PhD N
2010 Christy Cunniffe PhD N
2006 Niamh Naughton Masters N
2010 Colleen O¿Hara M.Lit Y
2004 Nigel Keary Masters N
2000 Oliver McHugh M.Lit Y
2015 Richard Clutterbuck PhD N
2005 Orla Howley Masters N
2010 Valerie Kelly Masters N
2013 Mary Wolf Masters N
2011 Treasa Ní Dhonnchadha Masters N
2012 Yvonne McDermott PhD N
2000 Linda Shine M.Lit Y
2008 James McKeon PhD N
1999 Siobhain Scully M.Lit Y
2001 Helen Bermingham M.Lit Y
2006 Diarmuid Ó Seaneachain PhD N
2012 Donna Brady Masters N

Modules Taught

  Term/Year Module Title Module Code Subject / Desc
2015-16 Semester 2 Gaelic Peoples: Indentity and Cultural Practice AR337
2015-16 Semester 1 Sacred Places and Christian Buildings in Medieval Ireland AR250
2015-16 Semester 1 Working with Archaeology and Human Heritages AR1100/1101
2015-16 Semester 1 Interpreting Landscapes MALA Module B
2015-16 Semester 1 and 2 Higher Diploma Dissertation in Archaeology and Place AR6101
2015-16 Semester 2 Reading the Past in Practice AR6100

Internal Collaborators

  Name Description of Collaboration
Dr Ronan Hennessy
Research partner for Atlas of Finn mac Cumaill's Places

External Collaborators

  Name Organisation / Institute Country Description of Collaboration
Dr Ruth Carden Contract sector IRELAND
Research partner for Atlas of Finn mac Cumaill's Places
Dr Paul Naessens Contract sector IRELAND
Research partner for Atlas of Finn mac Cumaill's Places
Professor Stephen Driscoll University of Glasgow SCOTLAND
Research partner for Atlas of Finn mac Cumaill's Places
Professor Joseph Falaky Nagy Humanities UCLA U.S.A.
Research partner for Atlas of Finn mac Cumaill's Places