Award success for History student
History PhD student, Sophie Cooper, has received an esteemed bursary to help fund a research trip to Australia. (Published 30 May 2014)
Sophie, a McFarlane scholar based at the Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies, currently in the first year of her PhD and supervised by Dr Enda Delaney, was selected for a British Association for Irish Studies (BAIS) Postgraduate Bursary.
The award was presented at the Irish Embassy in Knightsbridge, London on 28 May. Winners met with the Irish Ambassador to Great Britain at the formal awards ceremony.
Her success follows a competitive application process that required applicants to determine why they deserved the fund and detail their plans for the funds.
A comparative study of Irish diaspora communities
Sophie’s main research focus is nationalism in the Irish communities of Chicago and Melbourne between 1850 and1890.
Sophie was delighted to win the bursary, which will help fund her planned trip to Melbourne in October. Here she hopes to access resources at the Catholic diocesan archives and the State Library of Victoria and uncover evidence of nationalist activities, particularly more radical or militant expressions of nationalism, amongst Melbourne’s Irish immigrant population.
Rewarding excellence
The BAIS Postgraduate Bursary Scheme is a major scheme of its kind in the UK. Each year significant funds are made available to students researching Irish-related topics at British Universities.
Last year second year student Andrew Phemister, also supervised by Dr Delaney, was the proud recipient of the bursary.