Ms. Niamh Hehir

Research Interests

My research interests have always focused on modern Irish Literature, particularly the work of contemporary Irish women poets. My Ph.D. dissertation explored the work of Medbh McGuckian and applied the theories of Julia Kristeva to an analysis of her poetry. I am particularly interested in psychoanalytic literary theory and Trauma theory. I have also undertaken research on the work of Eavan Boland, Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, Eilean Ni Chuilleanain, Vona Groake and Paula Meehan. Northern Irish poetry in general has always been of particular interest to me in my research, and the work of Seamus Heaney and Paul Muldoon was explored as part of my PhD research. I have also done extensive research on Samuel Beckett's work, in particular his play, ‘Footfalls'. I am currently researching the representation of maternal trauma in Irish Literature. In particular, I am focusing on the revelations of abuse in the Magdalene Laundries, and the national impact of the Anne Lovette tragedy. My research seeks to explore the ways in which poetry, in particular work of Paula Meehan and Eileen Ni Chuilleanain, responds to these tragedies by providing a necessary space for collective reflection and discussion in the wake of these tragedies. My research draws upon Trauma Theory as a framework for an exploration of the representation of trauma in the work of these two Irish women poets.