UCD School of Archaeology

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Biography:

I was appointed as a College Lecturer in UCD School of Archaeology in September 2000, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in September 2005. I have been an IRCHSS Senior Research Scholar in 2002-2003 and a UCD President's Research Fellow in 2004-2005

My research is focused on two principal areas: early medieval Ireland in its northwest European contexts, and wetland archaeology across the world.

For the early medieval period, my research focuses on social identity and materiality within early medieval societies, with a particularly interest in early medieval landscapes, settlement and economy. I am Principal Investigator of the INSTAR-funded Early Medieval Archaeology Project (EMAP), which is focused on creating knowledge, through reports, publications and online resources, from the extensive data gathered in early medieval archaeological excavations in Ireland in recent decades (see www.emap.ie for published online reports). I have also directed major early medieval archaeological fieldwork projects myself, including archaeological excavations of an early medieval pilgrims' church and graveyard at Templeteenaun, Co. Wicklow (2004-2009), excavations of a early medieval (and later prehistoric) crannog at Coolure Demesne, Co. Westmeath and also previously, underwater archaeological excavations of an early medieval bridge at Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly (1997-98, see here for brief account).

Recent wetland archaeological projects include current archaeological surveys on the Fergus estuary and around its islands (2007-11), with its spectacular medieval fishing complex at Boarland Rock. We have also recently collaborated with colleagues in France for a project on Medieval fishweirs in northwest Europe. Prior to my appointment at UCD, between 1992-2000, I was a Project Director of the Lake Settlement Project in The Discovery Programme , where I also directed a pioneering archaeological survey of the Shannon estuary (1992-2000) and for EHS, N. Ireland, of Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland (1996). I have widespread experience in the commercial, research and academic archaeological sectors, having worked on numerous archaeological excavations and environmental consultancy projects in Ireland, Britain, Switzerland and France. Key publications include (2006) Rethinking Wetland Archaeology and (2012) The Oxford Handbook of Wetland Archaeology

Teaching

My teaching programmes tend to explore how people in the past used places, objects, animals and their environments to create and inhabit social worlds that are very different than our own, and thence reveal the potential diversity of the human experience. I am Module Co-ordinator for seven undergraduate and graduate modules in UCD School of Archaeology.

• ARCH10010: Exploring Archaeology
• ARCH30240: Experimental Archaeology
• ARCH30270: Early medieval societies: from the 'Barbarian Migrations' to the Viking Age
• ARCH30150: Wetland Archaeology
• ARCH40400: Graduate Extended Essay
• ARCH40310: Graduate Dissertation (MA thesis)
• ARCH40480: Graduate Research Placement
• I also contribute occasional lectures and participate in fieldtrips for
• ARCH10050: Introduction to the Archaeology of Ireland (Muiris O'Sullivan, module co-ordinator)
• ARCH20110: Sites in their Landscapes (Helen Lewis, Module Co-ordinator) 

I have supervised 10 PhD theses and co-ordinate UCD School of Archaeology's Early Medieval Research and Viking Age Research Group (EMVARG) of Post-Doctoral Fellows, PhD and MA students - the largest and most successful (i.e. in terms of postgraduate scholarship awards) community of graduate students investigating early medieval archaeology in Ireland. I have supervised c.20 MA theses. Three of my previous MA students were awarded the UK's Medieval Settlement Research Group (MSRG) John Hurst Prize for the Best Thesis on Medieval Settlement in Britain and Ireland, including Triona Nicholl, (2004) Experimental archaeology and early medieval houses; Jonathan Kinsella (2005) Locating the poor and unfree: early medieval low-status settlement in Ireland and Niamh Arthur (2009) The Viking Age longphort in Ireland.

Professional Activities

As a professional Irish archaeologist, I have previously been Vice-Chair and Board Member of the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI) (2007-2008; 2004-2008); and a member of the Royal Irish Academy Committee for Archaeology (2004-2008), the Council of The Prehistoric Society (2000-2003); the Council of The Discovery Programme (1998-2003) and the Council of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. Other professional activities include acting as:

• PhD External Examiner for doctoral theses at New York University (NYU) (USA), University of London (UK), University of Nottingham (UK), James Cook University (Australia), University of Wales at Newport (Wales) and the University of Ulster at Coleraine (N. Ireland). Dissertation or Comprehensive Exam Committee member for PhD theses at University of Pennsylvania (USA) and Memorial University, St. Johns, Newfoundland (Canada)
• External Examiner for the BSc in Applied Archaeology at Institute of Technology, Sligo (2010-2013) and previously was External Examiner for the MSc in Maritime Archaeology, at the Centre for Maritime Archaeology, University of Ulster at Coleraine (N. Ireland).
• External Assessor for applications to IRCHSS Postgraduate Scholarships, NUI Travelling Studentships and the Odyssee Research Programme in The Netherlands.
• Peer reviewer for papers in international journals, such as Current Anthropology, Journal of Archaeological Science, Medieval Archaeology, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, Journal of Wetland Archaeology, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy.
• Member of the Editorial Boards of Archaeology Ireland, the Journal of the North Atlantic and the Journal of Maritime Archaeology.
• Co-organiser of numerous archaeological conferences, including Experimental Archaeology in Northwest Europe (2011); Early Medieval settlements in Northwest Europe (2010), Wetland Archaeology in Ireland and Beyond (2009), Fishing and Coastal Communities in northwest Europe (2009), as well as the popular Archaeology Ireland annual conferences; Stories of our Past (2007), The Body, Dress and Jewellery (2006), Food, Culture and identity (2005).  For the international Sixth World Archaeology Congress (WAC-6), held in Dublin (2008), I was a member of the National Organising Committee and the Programme Committee and also organised a major theme on Wetland Archaeology across the World.

I have been invited to speak at many conferences, seminars and events in USA, Canada, UK, Ireland and Europe and was also an invited Irish speaker in April 2005 for the Irish American Cultural Institute (IACI), lecturing on early medieval Ireland at Irish-American venues in New York, Connetticut, Milwaukee, New Jersey, New Orleans, Houston, Phoenix, Kansas and other places and has also been an invited lecturer at Appalachian State University and East Carolina University, North Carolina (March 2006).

However, really significant career achievements included once playing for Wicklow (U-14, U-16, U-18 and U-21) hurling teams and winning two Junior Hurling Championship medals with Valleymount in 1985 and 1990. Recently, I've started playing hurling again in my back garden with our two little boys, Cóilín (who is 3) and Dáire (who is 1) and would expect from their skills, that they will both win All-Ireland Hurling Championship medals in 2031 with Dublin, Clare or perhaps even... Wicklow.