Biography
I lecture on the MA History of Family in the Department of History and am an Irish Research Council Laureate Fellow on the Death and Burial Data, 1864-1922 (IRCLA) 2017/32. This project is led by Dr Ciara Breathnach. I am also a consultant to the Irish Historic Towns Atlas project based in the Royal Irish Academy.
I hold a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature from the University of Oxford and an MA in History of Family from the University of Limerick. I completed a PhD in History and Digital Humanities at University College Cork (UCC) in 2017, my thesis examining 'Place, Community and Organisation on the Courtown Estates, 1649-1977'. During this time I also completed a Higher Diploma in Geographical Information Systems.
Following my PhD I worked as a postdoctoral researcher on the interdisciplinary project Deep Maps:West Cork Coastal Cultures project funded by the Irish Research Council and based at University College Cork.
I also hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (NUI) and have recently completed studies towards a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching, Learning and Scholarship at the University of Limerick.
Research Interests
As well as the history of family, a key focus of my research is the history of landholding in Ireland during the early modern and modern periods. This includes the history of the landed estate (landed elites, servants, agents, tenant farmers, the roles of women, agricultural labourers and vagrants). Other areas that interest me include local history, urban history and environmental history.
I frequently use digital tools and technologies to facilitate and present research. Areas such as spatial humanities and digital history are of interest to me, in particular the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). As demonstrated by some of the projects I have worked on, I enjoy taking an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to research, as well as conducting individual research.
Teaching Interests
I lecture on the MA History of Family teaching on the following modules:
HI6041: Introduction to history of family
HI6061: Families and Communities
HI6062: People on the move: Studying Migration
HI6002: History research seminar
I have supervised 11 students to submission of their MA History of Family dissertations.
In the past I have lectured on the MA in Local History and the MA in Irish Literature and Film at University College Cork.
Professional Activities
Education
- 2017 University College Cork - PhD
- 2008 University of Limerick - MA
- 1992 University of Oxford - BA
Consultancy
- 2013 Irish Historic Towns Atlas Project, Royal Irish Academy - I worked on the Irish Historic Towns Atlas Project's digital strategy and continue to work with them in developing a method for creating their maps in GIS
Association
- Member, British Agricultural History Society
- Member, Economic and Social History Society of Ireland
- Member, Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society
- Member, Geographical Society of Ireland
- Member, Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement
- Member, Irish Association for Professional Historians
- Member, Irish Modern Urban History Group
- Member, Local Population Studies Society
- Member, Social History Society
- Member, The Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland
- Member, Women's History Association of Ireland
Publications
Book Chapters
Deep Maps: West Cork Coastal Cultures
Claire Connolly, Rachel Murphy, Breda Moriarty, Orla-Peach Power, Michael Waldron and Rob McAllen
(2021)
Deep Maps: West Cork Coastal Cultures
In Shorelines: The Coastal Atlas of Ireland;
Robert J.N. Devoy, Valerie Cummins, Barry Brunt, Darius Bartlett and Sarah Kandrot(Ed.)
Cork :
Cork University Press
The Courtown Land Agents and Transnational Estate Management, 1850-1900
Rachel Murphy
(2018)
The Courtown Land Agents and Transnational Estate Management, 1850-1900
In The Land Agent 1700-1920;
C. Reilly, L. A. Rees and A. Tindley (eds)(Ed.)
Edinburgh :
Edinburgh University Press
pp. 93-108
DOI: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/land-agent/courtown-land-agents-and-transnational-estate-management-18501900/BB736763A7921164262DCD6F490E76C8
Lady Charlotte Stopford: A Lady of Leisure?
Rachel Murphy
(2016)
Lady Charlotte Stopford: A Lady of Leisure?
In Leisure and the Irish in the Nineteenth Century ;
Leeann Lane and William Murphy (eds)(Ed.)
Liverpool :
Liverpool University Press
Peer Reviewed Journals
Visualising a Spatial Archive: GIS, digital humanities, and Relational Space
Ronan Foley and Rachel Murphy
(2015)
Visualising a Spatial Archive: GIS, digital humanities, and Relational Space
In Breac;
Revolutionary entities: Turning data into knowledge to drive personalized exploration of The Irish Rising of 1916
Owen Conlan, Alexander O'Connor, Órla Ní Loinsigh, Gary Munnelly, Séamus Lawless and Rachel Murphy
(2014)
Revolutionary entities: Turning data into knowledge to drive personalized exploration of The Irish Rising of 1916
In 2014 Ieee International Conference On Big Data (Big Data);
DOI: 10.1109/BigData.2014.7004450
Conference Contributions
Mapping Respiratory Disease in Dublin 1901-1902
Rachel Murphy
(2020)
Mapping Respiratory Disease in Dublin 1901-1902
Limerick
The Goreybridge Censuses, 1862-1867
Rachel Murphy
(2020)
The Goreybridge Censuses, 1862-1867
Limerick
A Comparative Analysis of Household Structures on the Courtown Estates 1901 and 1911
Rachel Murphy
(2019)
A Comparative Analysis of Household Structures on the Courtown Estates 1901 and 1911
University of Pécs, Hungary
Geospatial Innovation Seminar
Rachel Murphy
(2018)
Geospatial Innovation Seminar
Lancaster University
Digital Cultures Network
Rachel Murphy
(2017)
Digital Cultures Network
Cardiff University
Sea, Land and Spirit Conference
Rob McAllen, Rachel Murphy, Breda Moriarty, Orla-Peach Power and Michael Waldron
(2017)
Sea, Land and Spirit Conference
Dingle, Co. Kerry
Mapping Townscapes: Irish Historic Towns Atlas Seminar 2017
Rachel Murphy and Sarah Gearty (Irish Historic Towns Atlas project)
(2017)
Mapping Townscapes: Irish Historic Towns Atlas Seminar 2017
Royal Irish Academy
European Historic Towns Atlas Project Workshop: 'GIS-based Cartography - A Change of Media or a change of Paradigms for Historic Towns Atlases?' Institut für vergleichende Städtegeschichte
Rachel Murphy
(2017)
European Historic Towns Atlas Project Workshop: 'GIS-based Cartography - A Change of Media or a change of Paradigms for Historic Towns Atlases?' Institut für vergleichende Städtegeschichte
University of Münster, Germany
Meitheal - Irish Studies Graduate Seminar
Rachel Murphy
(2017)
Meitheal - Irish Studies Graduate Seminar
NUI Galway
Sixth Annual Conference of the All Ireland Architectural Research Group. Evaluating Landscapes panel, convened by Dr. Jane Russell-O'Connor (Waterford Inistitute of Technology)
Rachel Murphy and Sarah Gearty (Irish Historic Towns Atlas project)
(2017)
Sixth Annual Conference of the All Ireland Architectural Research Group. Evaluating Landscapes panel, convened by Dr. Jane Russell-O'Connor (Waterford Inistitute of Technology)
Waterford Institute of Technology
Environments of Knowledge Masterclass
Claire Connolly, Rob McAllen, Rachel Murphy, Breda Moriarty, Orla-Peach Power and Michael Waldron
(2017)
Environments of Knowledge Masterclass
University College Cork
Maritime History Conference
Rachel Murphy and Breda Moriarty (School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UCC)
(2016)
Maritime History Conference
University College Cork
Landscapes, Environment and Heritage in Irish Studies Workshop at University College Cork
Rachel Murphy
(2016)
Landscapes, Environment and Heritage in Irish Studies Workshop at University College Cork
University College Cork
Digital Mappings and Historical Geographies panel convened by Keith Lilley (Queen's University Belfast) and Catherine Porter (Lancaster University) International Conference of Historical Geographers
Rachel Murphy
(2015)
Digital Mappings and Historical Geographies panel convened by Keith Lilley (Queen's University Belfast) and Catherine Porter (Lancaster University) International Conference of Historical Geographers
Royal Geographical Society, London, UK
Networking the Digital Environmental Humanities
Rachel Murphy
(2015)
Networking the Digital Environmental Humanities
Trinity College Dublin
Irish Historic Towns Atlas workshop
Rachel Murphy
(2014)
Irish Historic Towns Atlas workshop
Royal Irish Academy, Dublin
'Paying the Price to the Utmost Farthing?' Women and the First World War
Rachel Murphy
(2014)
'Paying the Price to the Utmost Farthing?' Women and the First World War
University College Cork
Conceptualising Maps and Land Use Planning (Historical Geography) panel, 38th Annual Meeting of the Social Science History Association
Rachel Murphy
(2013)
Conceptualising Maps and Land Use Planning (Historical Geography) panel, 38th Annual Meeting of the Social Science History Association
Chicago, USA
New Methods/New Perspectives on Humanities Scholarship: A NeDimah (Network for Digital Methods in the Arts and Humanities)/DARIAH Workshop
Rachel Murphy
(2012)
New Methods/New Perspectives on Humanities Scholarship: A NeDimah (Network for Digital Methods in the Arts and Humanities)/DARIAH Workshop
Trinity College Dublin
The Economic and Social History Society of Ireland's Annual Conference: 'Networks and Connections'
Rachel Murphy
(2012)
The Economic and Social History Society of Ireland's Annual Conference: 'Networks and Connections'
Queen's University Belfast
Society for the Study of Nineteenth Century Ireland 2012 Conference on Leisure and the Irish in the Nineteenth Century
Rachel Murphy
(2012)
Society for the Study of Nineteenth Century Ireland 2012 Conference on Leisure and the Irish in the Nineteenth Century
Mater Dei Institute of Education, Dublin City University
Electronic Publications
The Digital Atlas of Dungarvan
GIS and Storymap: Rachel Murphy; Project co-ordination and cartography: Sarah Gearty; Text input and editing: Jennifer Moore; Academic content: John Martin; Academic editors: H.B. Clarke, Raymond Gillespie, Jacinta Prunty, Michael Potterton and Anngret Simms; Digitisation: Frank Cullen
(2020)
The Digital Atlas of Dungarvan
The Diary of Mary Martin
Jane Burns, Sinéad Moloney, Rachel Murphy, Gordon O'Sullivan and Patrizia Rebulla
(2012)
The Diary of Mary Martin
Book Reviews
Review of Maria Luddy and James M. Smith (eds), Children, Childhood and Irish Society, 1500 to the Present (Dublin, 2014) in Children and Society, Vol. 30, (2016), pp 335-6.
Rachel Murphy
(2016)
Review of Maria Luddy and James M. Smith (eds), Children, Childhood and Irish Society, 1500 to the Present (Dublin, 2014) in Children and Society, Vol. 30, (2016), pp 335-6.
Review of Vandra Costello, Irish Demesne Landscapes, 1660-1740 (Dublin, 2015) in Eighteenth Century Ireland, Vol. 30, Dublin, 2015, pp 170-172
Rachel Murphy
(2015)
Review of Vandra Costello, Irish Demesne Landscapes, 1660-1740 (Dublin, 2015) in Eighteenth Century Ireland, Vol. 30, Dublin, 2015, pp 170-172