As we start what we’re all calling “Season Two” of the website, we wanted to re-introduce key members of our team and revisit with some of our former Research Radar interviewees to find out what has changed for them (or stayed them same!) since 2021…

What first inspired you to go into academia?  What inspires you still?

At first, a great master’s supervisor and a love for researching and writing.  Swap out “master’s” for “doctoral” (shout out the incomparable Centre for Irish Studies at the University of Galway) and you’ll have my answer for what inspires me still.

Do you work best in the morning, the afternoon, or at night?

I am such a creature of routine, and almost like clockwork, my most “productive” time (so, writing, I guess) is after my first tea of the day and leading up to lunch (10.00 am to 2.00 pm); before that is better for catching up on emails and after that is better for reading.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Oof, I feel exposed!  It has to be “indeed.”

What’s your guilty pleasure while you write/research/prepare material/go to conferences?

Echoing other respondents, none of these are really guilty pleasures, as there is zero guilt here!  As a routine-lover, there are certain practices that I build into my time off that are now essential to keeping me going week in, week out: a long weekend run with a good podcast, an Epsom salt bath, indulgent pasta (usually something with leeks and anchovies), reading historical fiction, painting my nails, drawing, and scotch + shortbread.

Do you use Twitter?  If so, why?  If not, why not?

Yes, but admittedly, not with great success.  I was encouraged to cultivate an online presence while attending a professional development workshop during my first year of grad school.  As an anti-social-media luddite, I decided it was worth at least exploring.  I’m not sure that for me, personally, this was such great advice, but we’ll see!  I’ve definitely come across CFPs that I otherwise would not have heard about and following a bunch of Ireland’s great restaurants on Twitter is awesome, but there are trade-offs with which I’m still grappling. 

What are you looking forward to most in the next twelve months?

Time off with my family, several months in Ireland, and House of the Dragon Season 2 (a girl can dream…).

Given the past few years, what makes you happiest, in or out of the classroom?

Invariably, my family.

What’s the strangest question anyone has ever asked you in an academic context?

People regularly ask me, “why Ireland?”  I used to have all kinds of cheeky and, looking back on it, not-so-clever responses.  Now I just say, “why not?”  It usually shuts down conversation that would otherwise annoy me or springboards a fun and generative exchange.