M.Phil./P.Grad.Dip. Irish Writing

Course Description

This course offers an exploration of Irish writing in English from the late seventeenth century to the present. Trinity has educated many important writers, from Jonathan Swift to Samuel Beckett to Eavan Boland to Anne Enright. It has also long led the way in the teaching and researching of Ireland’s literature. Amid a diverse and dynamic community of students and scholars, this course will allow you to gain a thorough grounding in the field of Irish writing, from canonical figures such as Maria Edgeworth and James Joyce to contemporary critical debates around gender, sexuality, class and race.

The centrepiece of the course is the ‘Perspectives in Irish Writing’ module. Drawing on the expertise of Trinity’s world-leading faculty, it covers a range of texts, genres, contexts and critical debates central to the study of Irish literary history. It is complimented by ‘Mapping Literary Dublin’, which focuses on one of the world’s most vibrant literary cities as a site of literary production. Foundational grounding in studying and researching literature at postgraduate level is provided through the ‘Research Skills for Postgraduate English’ module.

A range of specialist option courses also enable you to shape your own distinct programme of study. In recent years, these have included: ‘Gender and Nation’, ‘Publishing Twentieth-Century Irish Literature’, ‘Big House Literature’, ‘Irish Poetry after Yeats’, and ‘Ireland on Stage’. In the final phase of the course, you will complete a dissertation. This will allow you to pursue in-depth research on a subject of your choice under expert supervision and drawing on our outstanding library and archival collections. A further exciting opportunity open to students on this course is the chance to apply for participation in a creative writing workshop led by the visiting Writer Fellow each year at the Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing.

This course provides an excellent platform for moving on to doctoral research, as well as offering transferable skills for a variety of future careers, including in education, the arts, publishing and the media.