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Dr Sorcha de Brún from the School of English, Irish and Communication and Helene Haak (recently awarded her PhD in History under the cosupervision of Professor Ciara Breathnach and Dr Sorcha de Brún) has been awarded a prestigous research grant from the Royal Irish Academy as part of a competitive funding call. 

The project will examine unique court records in the National Archives detailing witness testimonies in Irish in cases regarding violence against women and girls. Viewed through the lens of social history, this interdisciplinary project will explore the context and circumstances where Irish was used by both prosecution and defence. This project breaks new ground in that it is the first research project of its kind that focuses on Gender History, Justice, the Courts and the Irish language. Utilising a rarely considered set of primary sources, the project will provide a unique perspective on the lived experiences of Irish speakers in the early years of the Irish Free State, while drawing attention to ways that social class and gender influenced the use of Irish in the courtroom. It thus makes significant contributions to knowledge in both historical, legal and modern Irish language studies.