Laura Patrick

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PhD title:

Cultural Landscapes of Late Medieval Gaelic Ulster

Research field:

With the dawn of the seventeenth-century, the Plantation of Ulster led to the establishment of a new proto-capitalist economy with commercial enterprise and changes in landholding practices, reflected in new towns, markets, agricultural processes, and communications networks.  What though can then be discerned about the socio and economic aspects of the previous Gaelic society? Through the study of cartographic and contemporary sources, can Gaelic settlement in the Late Sixteenth Century be identified in the modern landscape? 

To answer these vital questions, this research then will utilise a variety of seventeenth-century sources, in addition to the use of GIS comprising cartographic data, place-name evidence, GPS field-walking results, and topographical surveys.  The subsequent results on the Late Medieval landscape hierarchy will enable parallels to be drawn with landholding in contemporary Monaghan (McDermott, 2010), identifying commonalities and differences within Gaelic social organisation.  Additionally, the work will provide information on pre-plantation Ulster that can be compared with North America (Horning, 2014), investigating the effects of British colonial enterprises on society and cultures of both the Gaelic Irish and Native Americans.  

Funding body:

Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Programme (AHRC)

Email: lpatrick03@qub.ac.uk

(Also see Laura’s undergraduate ArcPal Alumni page here)