Biography
Ciara Breathnach is Associate Professor in History at the University of Limerick and an Irish Research Council Laureate Awardee. She has published widely on Irish socio-economic, gender, cultural and health history. Her current monograph Ordinary lives, death and social class: Dublin City Coroner's Court, 1876-1902 is under contract and forthcoming with Oxford University Press. She is co-editor of two forthcoming volumes:
1. Jyoti Atwal, Ciara Breathnach and Sarah-Anne Buckley (eds.), Gender History: Ireland 1850-1922 (in preparation and under contract with Routledge India, due 2021). Open access funded by Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Decade of Centenary strand.
2. Ciara Breathnach and Ian Walsh (eds.), Inquest Reports of Dr Joseph E. Kenny, Dublin City Coroner, 1900 (in preparation and under contract with Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, due 2022).
She is author of The Congested Districts Board of Ireland, 1891-1923, poverty and development in the West of Ireland (Dublin, 2005) and editor/co-editor of seven conference proceedings. Apart from chapters in edited volumes, she has published articles in Health and History, Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth, Nursing History Review, Social History of Medicine, Gender & History, Urban History, Medical Humanities, Cultural and Social History, Medical History, Social History, Irish Historical Studies, Immigrants and Minorities, History of Family: an International Quarterly, the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, Historical Research: the Bulletin of the Institute for Historical Research and New Hibernia Review.
She sits on the National Archives Advisory Council and the Irish Manuscripts Commission, she is a former member of the Board of the National Library of Ireland (2015-2020) and the Heritage Council (2012-2016). Breathnach has held several research awards as Principal or Co-Investigator and is currently an Irish Research Council Laureate Awards 2017/2018 recipient for a project entitled Death and Burial Data: Ireland 1864-1922 (2018-2022).
Research Interests
Dr Ciara Breathnach is Associate Professor in History at the University of Limerick. She has published widely on Irish socio-economic, gender, cultural and health history. Her current monograph Ordinary lives, death and social class: Dublin City Coroner's Court, 1876-1902 is under contract and forthcoming with Oxford University Press.
She has held the following Awards and Fellowships:
2019 Excellence in Teaching Award, Centre for Teaching and Learning, UL, Faculty of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences winner.
2019 Visiting Research Leaders Fellowship, University of Wollongong
2017 Visiting Fellowship, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
2016 CRF/RSE European Visiting Research Fellowships, Royal Society of Edinburgh, with Prof Oonagh Walsh at Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, UK.
2013-2014 Foundation for Women in Medicine Fellow, Center for the History of Medicine, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
2013-2014 Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Limerick.
2012-2013 Visiting Fellow, Institute of Historical Research, London.
2012 (September) Visiting Faculty, New York University.
2012-2013 Flaherty Visiting Fellow, University of Massachusetts, Boston.
She is a Research Associate at the Centre for Contemporary History, Trinity College Dublin (2012-), Member of the Association of Medical Humanities Council, External Examiner, Ulster University, BA & MRes progammes in History, Associate Editor of Medical Humanities (BMJ, 2016-2018). With Dr Laurence M. Geary she was co-Editor of the Society for the Study of Nineteenth Century Ireland series with Liverpool University Press (2015-2020).
Professional Activities
Award
- 2014 - Harvard University, Foundation for Women in Medicine Fellow, Center for the History of Medicine,
- 2013 - Flaherty Visiting Fellow
- 2013 - IRC, Main Principal Investigator
- 2012 - Visiting Faculty
- 2012 - Visiting Fellow
- 2010 - Principal Investigator
- 2005 - Royal Irish Academy, British- Irish Exchange scheme
- 2004 - Royal Irish Academy, British- Irish Exchange Scheme
Committee
- 2012 Heritage Council of Ireland,
- 2007 Society for the Study of Nineteenth Century Ireland,
- 2005 Committee member of the National Library of Ireland on Genealogy and Heraldry.,
Association
- 2010 President, Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland
- 2007 Secretary, Society for the Study of Nineteenth Century Ireland
Education
- 2003 UCC - PhD
Language
- Gaeilge
Publications
Book
Book Chapter
Towards Model Checking Product Lines in the Digital Humanities: An Application to Historical Data
Breathnach C.;Ibrahim N.;Clancy S.;Margaria T.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-30985-5_20
Crime and Punishment: Whiteboyism and the Law in Late Nineteenth-Century Ireland
Ciara Breathnach and Laurence M. Geary
Crime in C19th Ireland
it would be preposterous to bring a Protestant here': religion, provincial politics and district nurses in Ireland, 1890-1904',
Breathnach, Ciara
Healthcare in Ireland and Britain 1850-1970: voluntary, regional and comparative perspective
Medical Humanities: new frontier or back to the past?
Breathnach, C. and Walsh O.,
Restating the Value of the Humanities
Obituaries in provincial Irish newspapers, 1830-1900'
Breathnach, C, Butler, D
James Kelly and Marian Lyons (eds), Death and Dying in Ireland, Britain, and Europe: Historical Perspectives (Irish Academic Press, Dublin and Portland, 2013)
Lady Dudley’s district nursing scheme and the congested districts board, 1903-1923
Breathnach C.
Gender and Medicine in Ireland 1700-1950
The Congested Districts Board and Public Health'
Breathnach, Ciara
Gender and Medicine in Ireland, 1700-1951
Recruiting Irish migrants for life in New Zealand, 1870-1875
Breathnach, C
Ireland, Australia and New Zealand: history, politics and culture
introduction
Breathnach, C
Framing the West, images of rural Ireland, 1891-1920
Smallholder housing and public Health, 1892-1915
Breathnach, C
Framing the West: images of rural Ireland 1891-1920
Historical sources pertaining to Travellers, 1824-1925
Breathnach, C
Portraying Irish Travellers, histories and representations
Conference Contribution
Deviance in Modern Ireland
Breathnach C
Health and Welfare in the Archive
Breathnach C
Medical Identities: Patients and Professionals
Oonagh walsh, Ciara Breathnach and olwen Purdue
Social History of Medicine conference
Breathnach C
Sport and Leisure time,
Breathnach C.
Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland, UCC
Breathnach, C
17th Australasian Irish Studies Conference, QUB
Breathnach, C
Power and History: 29th Irish Conference of Historians
Anthony McElligott, Liam Chambers, Ciara Breathnach and catherine Lawless
Visual, material and print culture in nineteenth-century Ireland,
Breathnach C., Lawless C.
Continuity and change: history of the European Family
Breathnach C.
Conference Publication
Irish Historical Studies
Breathnach C.;Chambers L.;McElligott A.
Irish Historical Studies
DOI: 10.1017/S0021121400000584
Irish Historical Studies
Breathnach C.;O'Halpin E.
Irish Historical Studies
DOI: 10.1017/S0021121400000638
War and Peace: North East Irish Conference Network conference
Breathnach, Ciara
Civic Cultures Workshop, Centre for Historical Research, UL
Breathnach, Ciara
Tone to Gonne: Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland
Breathnach, Ciara
From Voluntary organisation to NGO
Breathnach, Ciara
Empires of Religion Conference
Breathnach, Ciara
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Irish Economic and Social History Annual Conference
Breathnach, Ciara
Taking History into the Future History Teacher's Association of Ireland
Breathnach, Ciara
14th Irish-Australian Conference
Breathnach, Ciara
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Breathnach, Ciara
*
Breathnach, Ciara
International Federation for research in Women's History
Breathnach, Ciara
Research Seminar in Contemporary Irish History
Breathnach, Ciara
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Breathnach, Ciara
Edited Book
Power, the State and Institutions in Ireland, Special Edition
Power in history: from medieval Ireland to the post-modern world; Historical Studies XXVII
Visual, material and print culture in nineteenth-century Ireland
Ireland church, state and society 1900-1975
Framing the West: images of rural Ireland 1891-1920
Portraying Irish Travellers, histories and representations,
Other Journal
Capital Punishment in Irish Prisons, 18681901
Ciara Breathnach
Health and History
DOI: 10.5401/healthhist.22.1.0104
Other Publication
Grave Matters: Death and Dying in Dublin 1500 to the Present
Breathnach, C
Social History Of Medicine
DOI: 10.1093/shm/hkx029
A tale of two cities - Infant mortality and cause of infant death, Dublin, 1864-1910
Breathnach C.;Gurrin B.
Journal Of Urban History
DOI: 10.1017/S0963926816000717
Perspectives on patienthood, practitioners and pedagogy
Breathnach, C,Kelly, BD
Medical Humanities
DOI: 10.1136/medhum-2016-010980
The Dispossessed State: narratives of ownership in 19th-century Britain and Ireland
Breathnach, C
Womens History Review
DOI: 10.1080/09612025.2013.770342
THE CRUELTY MAN: CHILD WELFARE, THE NSPCC AND THE STATE IN IRELAND, 1899-1956
Breathnach, C
Irish Historical Studies
'SHE SAID SHE WAS IN THE FAMILY WAY': PREGNANCY AND INFANCY IN MODERN IRELAND
Breathnach, C
Irish Historical Studies
Medicalizing the female reproductive cycle in rural Ireland, 1926-56
Breathnach C.
Historical Research
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2281.2011.00585.x
Review of Asking Angela Mcnamara: an intimate history of Irish lives by Paul Ryan.
Breathnach, C
Journal of Gender Studies
DOI: 10.1080/09589236.2013.771510
Introduction
Breathnach, C,Chambers, L,McElligott, A
Irish Historical Studies
Introduction: Ireland church, state and society 1900-1975
Breathnach C.
History Of The Family
DOI: 10.1016/j.hisfam.2008.10.001
Peer Reviewed Journal
Rural youth, seasonal labor and family income: Ireland 1890-1935
Ciara Breathnach and Sarah-Anne Buckley
Journal of the history of Childhood and Youth
DOI: 10.1353/hcy.2020.0028
Capital Punishment in Irish Prisons, 18681901
Ciara Breathnach
Health and History
DOI: DOI: 10.5401/healthhist.22.1.0104
Census: on paper, by governments, is still best
Breathnach C.;Margaria T.
Nature
DOI: 10.1038/d41586-020-00004-9
Maternal Mortality, Dublin, 1864-1902
Breathnach, C,Gurrin, B
Social History Of Medicine
DOI: 10.1093/shm/hkx010
Evolving as Necessity Dictates: Home and Public Health in the 19th and 20th Centuries
Apple, RD,Breathnach, C,Bryder, L,Greenlees, J
Nursing History Review
DOI: 10.1891/1062-8061.26.48
The Triumph of Proximity: The Impact of District Nursing Schemes in 1890s' Rural Ireland
Breathnach, C
Nursing History Review
DOI: 10.1891/1062-8061.26.68
Infant life Protection and Medico-Legal Literacy in Early Twentieth-century Dublin
Breathnach, C
Womens History Review
DOI: 10.1080/09612025.2017.1307283
Review of Lisa Marie Griffith and Ciarán Wallace (eds), Grave Matters: Death and Dying in Dublin 1500 to the Present
Ciara Breathnach
Social History Of Medicine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/hkx029
Infant life protection and medico-legal literacy in early twentieth-century Dublin
Ciara Breathnach
Womens History Review
DOI: 10.1080/09612025.2017.1307283
A tale of two cities - infant mortality and cause of infant death, Dublin, 1864-1910
Breathnach, C,Gurrin, B
Urban History
DOI: 10.1017/S0963926816000717
Maternal mortality, Dublin 1864-1905' Social History of Medicine
Ciara Breathnach and Brian Gurrin
Social History Of Medicine
DOI: 10.1093/shm/hkx010
Perspectives on patienthood, practitioners and pedagogy
Ciara Breathnach and Brendan Kelly
Medical Humanities
DOI: 10.1136/medhum-2016-010980
Handywomen and Birthing in Rural Ireland, 18511955.
Breathnach, C
Gender & History
DOI: 10.1111/1468-0424.12176
Professional patienthood and mortality: Sean O Riordain's diaries 1974-1977
Breathnach, C
Medical Humanities
DOI: 10.1136/medhum-2015-010828
Handywomen and Birthing in Rural Ireland, 1851-1955
Breathnach, C
Gender And History
DOI: 10.1111/1468-0424.12176
'INDELIBLE CHARACTERS' TATTOOS, POWER AND THE LATE NINETEENTH-CENTURY IRISH CONVICT BODY
Breathnach, C,Farrell, E
Cultural & Social History
DOI: 10.2752/147800415X14224554625271
Scripting blame: Irish coroners' courts and unnamed infant dead, 1916-32
Breathnach, C,O'Halpin, E
Social History
DOI: 10.1080/03071022.2014.917877
Review of, Sarah Anne Buckley, The Cruelty Man
Breathnach, Ciara
Irish Historical Studies
'Heavier the interval than the consummation': bronchial disease in Sean O Riordain's diaries
Breathnach, C
Medical Humanities
DOI: 10.1136/medhum-2013-010386
Medical Officers, Bodies, Gender and Weight
Breathnach, Ciara
Medical history
DOI: 10.1017/mdh.2013.72
Ciara Breathnach, Review of She said she was in the family way': pregnancy and infancy in modern Ireland, Elaine Farrell (ed).
Breathnach, C
Irish Historical Studies
Irish Catholic identity in 1870s Dunedin, New Zealand
Breathnach C
Immigrants and Minorities
DOI: 10.1080/02619288.2012.747478
Registered 'Unknown' infant fatalities in Ireland, 1916-32: gender and power
Breathnach, Ciara: O'Halpin Eunan
Irish Historical Studies
Medicalizing the female reproductive cycle in rural Ireland, 1926-56
Breathnach, C
Historical Research
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2281.2011.00585.x
Introduction: Power, the State and institutions in Ireland,
Breathnach, C, Chambers L. and McElligott, A
Irish Historical Studies
Even 'Wilder Workhouse Girls': The Problem of Institutionalisation among Irish Immigrants to New Zealand 1874
Breathnach, C
Journal Of Imperial And Commonwealth History
DOI: 10.1080/03086534.2011.629086
An exploration of testamentary behaviour in twentieth-century Ireland
Breathnach, C
History Of The Family
DOI: 10.1016/j.hisfam.2009.08.001
Introduction: Ireland church, state and society 1900-1975
Breathnach, C
History Of The Family
DOI: 10.1016/j.hisfam.2008.10.001
The Role of Women in the Economy of the West of Ireland, 1891-1923
Breathnach, Ciara
New Hibernia Review