Courses
A certificate of completion in Irish Studies will be awarded by Regis University to students who successfully complete four of the five courses. Students completing five courses will be awarded a diploma in Irish Studies from NUI, Galway.
Course Descriptions
IRSH410E Introduction to Irish Studies I: Early Christian Ireland, 431-1169 (3)
Studies early Irish culture and society from the introduction of Christianity in the 5th century, through the 8th century Viking invasion and the beginning of the 12th century Anglo-Norman conquest. Emphasizes literature created out of the rapprochement between the pagan tradition and the new religion. Includes extracts from Old-Irish literature including the heroic saga, Táin Bó Cuailgne (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley)and lyric poetry produced in monastic scriptoria.
IRSH410F Introduction to Irish Studies II: Medieval Ireland, Literature and Society, 1169-1603 (3)
Focuses on the impact of the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion on Irish social, political and cultural life. Provides a brief historical survey of Gaelic Ireland in the early middle ages and insight into the archaeology of the medieval Irish Church. Introduces the world of the Irish bardic poet and his work.
IRSH410G Introduction to Irish Studies III: Early Modern Ireland, 1603-1845 (3)
Investigates the destruction of the Gaelic heroic world following defeat of Irish forces at the Battle of Kinsale and subsequent dispersal of native Irish and Old English aristocracy. Introduces political, social and economic structures of this period as well as the disintegration of Gaelic Irish cultural values and literary traditions from the Elizabethan period to the famines of the 1840s. Concludes with an overview of economic, social and demographic trends in pre-famine Ireland.
IRSH410H Introduction to Irish Studies IV: Modern Ireland: Culture and Society, 1845-1998 (3)
Introduces the patterns of modern and contemporary Irish life and culture from a multidisciplinary perspective. Investigates the impact of famine on Irish society and the subsequent Gaelic Revival and Anglo-Irish Literary Revival from the 1880s until establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Explores the impact of cultural nationalism and the progress of 20th century literature in Irish and English. Studies the work of James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, Seamus Heaney, Máirtín Ó Cadhain, and others. Concludes with features of modern Irish society including religion, the family, social change, and the Irish economy.
IRSH410I Social and Political Change in Contemporary Ireland (3)
In this course we will be using the results of sociological research in Ireland to examine Irish society. There is an underlying question that we will attempt to answer as we move through the different topics - how has Irish society been changed by the economic transformation that was initiated in the 1950s? On completion of this introductory course in Irish Society, students will have gained an insight into the planned economic change and unplanned social changes that have shaped contemporary Irish society.