Historians in Residence 2024

Pictured above: Cormac Moore, Katie Blackwood, Dervilia Roche, Cathy Scuffil, and Elizabeth Kehoe. Photo credit: Senija Topcic. 

Dublin City Council’s Historian in Residence programme welcomes two new historians. Elizabeth Kehoe and Katie Blackwood will be working in the Dublin Central and Dublin North Central areas respectively. Mary Muldowney, Cormac Moore, and Catherine Scuffil return to the programme. Dervilia Roche continues as the Historian in Residence for Children.

Dublin City Historians in Residence work in neighbourhoods across the city to encourage local people to engage with history, and to promote its sources and discussion, especially the historical collections in Dublin City Library and Archive. 

The Historians in Residence help the people of Dublin City feel a connection to their local history. This programme is created by  Dublin City Libraries, and delivered in partnership with Dublin City Council Culture Company. Some of the public talks by the historians are available on the Dublin City Libraries Youtube and Soundcloud. 

History on your Doorstep is an annual publication by the Historians in Residence. Copies of the sixth and latest edition are available, free of charge, through branches of Dublin City Libraries. You can also borrow Volumes 1-6 of the publication as eBooks from BorrowBox using your library card. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Biographies

Katie Blackwood is Historian in Residence for the Dublin North Central area. She holds an MA in Public History and Cultural Heritage from the University of Limerick and a BA in Fine Art Sculpture from the National College of Art and Design. Katie has worked for many years in libraries and archives. As an independent researcher she has undertaken community-based oral history projects focusing on cultural and social history.

Elizabeth Kehoe is Historian in Residence for the Dublin Central area. In 2015 she returned to formal education and completed a degree in history at Trinity College Dublin followed by an M. Phil. in Modern Irish History. She is an independent tour guide and researcher based in Dublin, working in Ireland and online. She shares her love for history with established local communities, new Irish communities, and visitors to this island.

Mary Muldowney is Historian in Residence for the Dublin North West area. She is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and the National University of Ireland at Maynooth. She is widely published, her research focussing  particularly on labour and women’s history. Mary is a member of the Grangegorman Histories Expert Working Group,  the committee of the Irish Labour History Society (ILHS) and she is co-editor of Saothar, the journal of the ILHS.

Cormac Moore is Historian in Residence for the Dublin South East area. He has published widely on Irish history, including the books, Birth of the Border: The Impact of Partition in Ireland (2019), The Irish Soccer Split (2015), and The GAA V Douglas Hyde: The Removal of Ireland’s First President as GAA Patron (2012). His next book Laois: The Irish Revolution, 1912-1923 is due to be published by Four Courts Press in 2024. He is a columnist with the Irish News as well as editing its daily “On This Day” segment.

Catherine Scuffil is Historian in Residence for the Dublin South Central area. She is a consultant Historian and tutor. As DCC Historian in Residence, Cathy established many community-based initiatives, including the multi award-winning The Liberties Weavers. Cathy has contributed to all volumes of History on Your Doorstep, co-editing two. Publications include By the Sign of the Dolphin, 1916 in the South Dublin Union photographic exhibition and SCR Dublin on the Eve of the First World War, – Old Dublin Society silver medal awardee.

Dervilia Roche is Dublin's Historian in Residence for Children, based at Richmond Barracks. She has been working in heritage and public history for over seventeen years and has published research on how children engage with heritage sites. She has a BA in History of Art and Architecture and Music from Trinity College Dublin and an MSc in Tourism Management from Dublin Institute of Technology. She is also Education Manager at Dublin City Council Culture Company. 

Contact Details

Elizabeth Kehoe - Dublin Central [email protected]

• Phibsboro Library: [email protected] 
• Central Library: [email protected]
• Charleville Mall Library: [email protected]

Katie Blackwood - Dublin North Central northcentralhistorian@dublincitycouncilculturecompany.

• Marino Library: [email protected]
• Coolock Library: [email protected]
• Raheny Library: [email protected]
• Donaghmede Library: [email protected]

Mary Muldowney – Dublin North West [email protected]

• Drumcondra Library: [email protected]
• Cabra Library: [email protected]
• Ballymun Library: [email protected]
• Finglas Library: [email protected]

Cormac Moore – Dublin South East [email protected]

• Pearse Street Library: [email protected]
• Ringsend Library: [email protected]
• Pembroke Library: [email protected]
• Terenure Library: [email protected]
• Rathmines Library: [email protected]

Cathy Scuffil – Dublin South Central [email protected]

• Inchicore Library: [email protected]
• Walkinstown Library: [email protected]
• Ballyfermot Library: [email protected]
• Kevin Street Library: [email protected]
• Dolphin’s Barn Library: [email protected]

Dervilia Roche – Historian in Residence for Children [email protected]