English, University of Galway

29/07/2026

📑 Dr Henry Obi Ajumeze's essay “Between Artwashing and Insurgency: Dramatising Oil Spillages in the Niger Delta,” has been published in The Routledge Companion to World Literature and the Environment. Drawing on Eni-Jologho’s The Scent of Crude Oil and Sam Okala’s Fumes of Fuel, Dr Ajumeze's essay discusses the different ways in which extractive infrastructures are performed in Niger Delta drama to argue that techno-modernity is an implicated subject in petro-insurgency.

The Routledge Companion to World‑Literature and the Environment takes a broad, global overview of the history, present and potential futures of environmental and literary studies, demonstrating that world‑literature is itself a world‑ecological force. Over 36 chapters, the collection moves fro...

29/07/2026

Congratulations to all our staff and students from Mayo. 💚❤️
Especially Mike! 😉

Hup Mayo! Comhairdeas mór! 💚 ❤️

08/07/2026

Lovely to see two of our graduates, Ciara Finan (BA, MA in Literature & Publishing) and Sarah Kenny (BA) mentioned as the Bookseller trade magazine's Rising Stars of 2025.

Ciara is currently an agent at Curtis Brown and Sarah a director of Kennys Bookshop & Art Gallery, Galway.

Books newsletter: a wrap of the latest news and preview of tomorrow’s pages

08/07/2026

📑Dr Irina Ruppo's article about students' struggles in academic writing and their connection to student retention has been published in the Irish Journal of Academic Practice​. Irina also discusses the importance of teaching writing at a deep level to help students develop their cognitive and critical thinking skills.

An interesting read!

This article explores the experiences and beliefs of students whose struggles with academic writing had led to contemplation of withdrawal from the university. It proposes that the absence of writing as a separate factor in existing retention models obscures the importance of writing issues to stude...

25/06/2026

We are proud to officially launch our new Institute for Creativity, a major strategic initiative that aims to harness culture and creativity on Ireland’s western seaboard. 🎉 🎉 The new Institute will forge next-generation collaborations between art and science, and research, policy, and industry—working across all disciplines in the University. It will support research already underway in the University, while driving new projects at the intersection of creativity and technology that are rooted in arts-based practice.

As AI reshapes the way we interact with all sectors of society, the Institute for Creativity celebrates the University’s legacy as an important partner in the creative ecosystem regionally and nationally and puts artistic intelligence to the fore in developing alternative solutions to the world’s most complex problems.

Key areas of focus:
* Lead research in the role of art and culture in fostering and driving sustainable development in rural and remote areas
* Rethink and revalue the relationship between art and culture, and health and wellbeing
* Conduct experimental research to promote cultural and linguistic diversity as a competitive advantage for Ireland and Europe

The Institute for Creativity will also be home to our popular 'Arts in Action' programme, which welcomes students and staff, and visitors from outside the university to engage with a broad and varied programme of artistic events.

Find out more: https://www.universityofgalway.ie/about-us/news-and-events/




📸Image: Florian Schneider, Director of the Institute for Creativity
Photo: Andrew Downes, Xposure

16/06/2026

Happy Bloomsday! Celebrate in Galway this week with a walking tour, brunch, or visit to Nora Barnacle House Museum. See Galway Civic Trust for details

https://galwaycivictrust.ie/index.php/2026/06/08/bloomsday-in-galway-stories-of-james-joyce-and-his-muse-nora-barnacle/

Marking Bloomsday with a journey through Joyce's Dublin.

05/06/2026

Lovely story of a poem written by our alumna Dr Emily Cullen, which appeared on this year’s Junior Certificate English examination paper.
Emily gained her PhD in English from University of Galway in 2008. Perhaps Lee might study with us in years to come!

Galway Junior Cert pupil’s surprise after his mother's poem – inspired by him – appears in his English paper

05/06/2026

Huge congratulations to Dr Andrew Levie, whose viva took place recently. Andrew's PhD was on Ethnogenesis in Spenser’s Faerie Queen: Early Modern, Medieval, and Classical Sources.

I am delighted to have passed my PhD viva last week at the University of Galway. Thanks are due to Daniel Carey and Thomas Herron, my internal and external examiners respectively, for their robust questions, insight, and advice regarding future directions for my work, and to Marie-Louise Coolahan fo...

04/06/2026

Dr Adrian Paterson is part of an expert panel reviewing this year's Women's Prize shortlist for non-fiction authors. In this article in The Conversation, Adrian writes about Artists, Siblings, Visionaries: The Lives and Loves of Gwen and Augustus John by Judith Mackrell.

New perspectives on history, complicated family relationships and a creative approach to health.

28/05/2026

The Magna Charta Universitatum Observatory has announced that the 2026 Student Essay Competition is now officially open.

This year’s theme is:
The Humanities and How They Influence Access to and the Experience of Higher Education
Students from universities around the world are invited to reflect on how the humanities shape access to higher education, belonging, academic development, and personal growth.

All information relating to the competition — including participation guidelines, submission details, and the webinar recording — is now available here: