It is with great regret that we note the passing of Professor Raymond Gillespie. A prolific and wide-ranging historian, Raymond taught in the Department of History at Maynooth University from 1991 to 2021 and will be remembered as a remarkable teacher and colleague. An incredibly generous scholar he had a particular gift for enthusing and inspiring students and young researchers and many associated with the Society for Irish Economic and Social History will have benefitted from his advice and mentorship – not that the latter is a word that he would ever have used.

Encompassing economic history, urban history, the history of reading, the history of religion and local history, among other areas, his published contributions to Irish history are impossible to summarise in brief. It is sufficient to note here that without his many outstanding contributions the field of Irish history would look very different indeed. An outstanding colleague and a true gentleman, Raymond will be greatly missed by those who knew him and our thoughts at this time are with his wife, Bernadette Cunningham, his family, and his very many friends and colleagues.

The Economic and Social History Society is delighted to announce the outcome of our 2023 ‘New Researchers Prize’ for work presented at our annual conference by a graduate student.

Our 50th Annual Conference saw an outstanding range or presentations from new researchers, making the judging process all the more difficult. 

The award this year is being presented jointly to Fiona Slevin (UCD) and Michael Lawrence (QUB). 

Fiona’s paper was a case study of female proprietorship in post-Famine rural Ireland (case study of Mohill, Co Leitrim), while Michael’s looked at male homosexuality and emigration in Ireland, 1891-1922.

Congratulations to both Fiona and Michael, and all the other new researchers who participated in this year's conference!

50th Annual Conference
University College Dublin, 17 and 18 November 2023

Proposals for papers, or for panels of papers, are solicited for the annual conference of the Economic and Social History Society of Ireland, which will be held at University College Dublin on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th November 2023. Proposals relating to all aspects of Irish economic and social history, from medieval to modern to contemporary history, will be considered. In particular, the conference organisers welcome papers that speak to the following themes:


• Migration
• Urban development
• Gender and sexuality
• Popular culture, consumerism and advertising
• Labour history
• Family and networks of care
• Health, medicine and welfare
• Economic and social impacts of war
• National development
• EEC/EU

Proposals from doctoral and early career researchers are particularly welcome, and we are pleased to announce that the Economic and Social History Society of Ireland will once more be awarding a ‘new researchers prize’ for the best paper presented to the annual conference by a graduate student. Details of previous winners can be found on the ESHSI website and presenters wishing to be considered for the prize should indicate this clearly when submitting a proposal.

Abstracts of papers and proposals for panels should be sent to Dr Alice Mauger ([email protected]) by 4th September 2023. Abstracts should be between 250 and 300 words, and panel proposals should include a title, contact details for all speakers and abstracts for all papers to be included in the session.

The Economic and Social History Society is delighted to announce the outcome of our ‘New Researchers Prize’ for work presented at the annual conference by a graduate student.

The judging panel were extremely impressed with the quality and scope of the new researcher presentations at the 2022 conference. After much deliberation, the decision was made to split the prize.  We are pleased to announce that the joint winners are:

Michael Loughman (Dublin City University): ‘The Slaughter of the Innocents’ – The calf skin bounty and reducing the national herd in 1930s Ireland.

Megan Mcauley (Maynooth University): ‘An integral part of life on the impoverished western seaboard’? Childhood and migratory labour in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century County Donegal

Congratulations to Michael and Megan on their outstanding work and presentations!

The Economic & Social History Society of Ireland are pleased to announce we will once again be offering a new researcher prize at the annual conference in October 2022. This will be awarded to the graduate student(s) who present the best paper as judged by the panel

Those wishing to be considered for the prize should submit an abstract in line with the call for papers by 30th September, and indicate they wish to be considered for the prize. 

The judging panel were extremely impressed with the quality and scope of the new researcher presentations at last year's conference and look forward to welcoming more new researchers this year.

Proposals for papers, or for panels of papers, are solicited for the annual conference of the Economic and Social History Society of Ireland, which will be held at Maynooth University on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th October 2022.

The keynote address will be delivered by Annie Tindley, Professor of British and Irish History at Newcastle University, and proposals relating to all aspects of Irish economic and social history, from medieval to modern, will be considered.

Proposals from doctoral and early career researchers are particularly welcome, and we are pleased to announce that the Economic and Social History Society of Ireland will once more be awarding a ‘new researchers prize’ for the best paper presented to the annual conference by a graduate student.

Details of previous winners can be found on the ESHI website and presenters wishing to be considered for the prize should indicate this clearly when submitting a proposal.

Abstracts of papers and proposals for panels should be sent to Dr Jonathan Wright ([email protected]) and Dr Sarah Roddy ([email protected]) by Friday 30 September 2022 at the latest.

Abstracts should be between 250 and 300 words, and panel proposals should include a title, contact details for all speakers and abstracts for all papers to be included in the session.

We're delighted to announce we will be holding a special event to give you the opportunity to meet the editors of our journal.
The editors, Dr Graham Brownlow (Queen’s University, Belfast) and Dr Juliana Adelman (Dublin City University), invite you to meet them on 8 September at 4pm on Zoom. All are welcome.
The session will begin with a short presentation from the editors explaining the process of submission, review and editing. The editors will provide some tips and advice from their experience of handling submissions. There will then be time for questions from attendees.

The event is completely free to attend. All you need to do is register here for the link to be provided: www.eventbrite.ie/e/meet-the-editors-of-irish-economic-and-social-history-tickets-406938151967

(Please note: this is not the appropriate forum to ask questions specific to an article that is currently under consideration or review. Please contact the editors directly.)

For the first time, the Economic and Social History Society of Ireland is presenting a ‘New Researchers Prize’ for work presented at our annual conference by a graduate student.

The judging panel were extremely impressed with the quality and scope of the new researcher presentations at the conference. After much deliberation, the decision was made to split the prize.  We are pleased to announce that the joint winners are:

• Noel Carolan (DCU), for his presentation on "The political heat out of Ireland’s last food supply crisis of the nineteenth century."
• Abigail Fletcher (Edinburgh) for her presentation on "From Partition to the Sexual Offences Act: Homosexuality and the Law in Northern Ireland 1921-1967.”

Congratulations to Noel and Abigail on their outstanding work and presentations!

The panel also wishes to acknowledge the following researchers got special commendation:

• Eliza McKee (QUB) who presented on: "'I bought from her in the factory’: women’s illicit clothing networks and the unregulated working-class clothing trade in industrial Belfast, c. 1880-1910."
• And Suzanne Jobling (QUB) who presented on: "‘The Impetus for Change’: Legislating for Equality in 1970s Ireland."

​Watch out for blog posts on our website from all four New Researchers on their excellent research!

The 2021 Annual Conference of the Economic and Social History Society of Ireland will be held online, hosted by the National University of Ireland, Galway on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th of December 2021.
 
Papers of 20 minutes duration on all aspects of the economic and social history of Ireland are welcome.
 
Please send proposals for papers to Niall Ó Ciosáin ([email protected]) by 10 September 2021.
 
Proposals should include an abstract of 100-250 words and full contact details.