Research

Research

Projects of the Chair

The major project to be undertaken by the Chair of Irish Studies is a genealogical and demographic survey of immigration from Ireland to the Atlantic region up to the year 1900. This survey will include both those immigrants who came directly from Ireland and those who came indirectly, i.e., via New England. Data on family names and relationships, places of origin, dates and means of travel, and initial and final destinations will be sought. All information will be recorded in the form of a computerized database, so that in the future researchers and scholars will have easy access to it. The Chair of Irish Studies has already established a connection with the South East Ireland Heritage Survey, receiving data from the Parish Registers of the dioceses of Waterford, Ossory, and Ferns.

In addition, the Chair of Irish Studies is coordinating, in conjunction with The Charitable Irish Society of Halifax, a research project on the Irish in Nova Scotia with the aim of publishing a inter-disciplinary volume of essays on aspects of the Irish contribution to Nova Scotia.