Patrick Mahoney G’21 to study at the National University of Ireland.
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April 2019 – Drew University graduate student Patrick Mahoney won a Fulbright Fellowship.
Mahoney, who’s pursuing a PhD in History and Culture at Drew’s Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, will spend the 2019-20 academic year studying at the National University of Ireland, Galway.
“His success is a testament to the experience he has gained at Drew,” said Edward Baring, director of the History and Culture program. “We want our students to gain a range of different professionalizing experiences, and provide a number of opportunities for them to gain it.”
While in Ireland, Mahoney will put his research and language skills to use as he translates and transcribes texts written by Eoin Ua Cathail—a native of Ireland who immigrated to the United States in 1863—and analyzes how they fit into the wider narrative of Irish-speaking immigrants who settled in the Midwest.
Mahoney credited several Drew professors and advisors as being instrumental in his research.
“Professor Christine Kinealy has been both a fountain of knowledge and a wonderful advocate of my research,” he said. “Additionally, Dr. Ed Baring and Dr. Jonathan Rose have provided support and thought-provoking questions along the way.”
Mahoney hopes to turn his research project into a published volume containing translations of Cathail’s writings, along with the original Irish texts and a comprehensive analysis.
“My interest in Ua Cathail’s story was sparked by my research on the American West,” Mahoney said. “My goal is that this work will make Irish-language sources available to scholars of the American West. I hope to be at the fore in bringing about increased engagement with Irish-language materials in future studies of the region.”
“A year’s intensive study at an archive can be a transformative experience for a young historian,” said Baring. “And I very much look forward to watching as Patrick’s career goes from strength to strength.”