Kieran McConaghy is a Lecturer in the School of International Relations.
My academic background includes a PhD in International Relations from the University St Andrews and degrees in Law with Politics (LLB) and Irish Politics (MA) from Queen’s University Belfast. My research spans a range of topics stemming from my interest in the political history of Ireland. This has involved studies on state action in the course of violent conflict, connections between Irish republicans and other radical political and armed groups transnationally, and vigilantism and community defence organisations during the ‘Troubles” in the North of Ireland, often drawing on archival research.
My interest in art and politics has led me to organise a film series at St Andrews around conflict, memory, and trauma, and integrated archival visits focused on conflict photography as part of my teaching. One of my current research projects concentrates on Irish rebel music over the course of the 20th and early 21st centuries. It asks how rebel songs have transmitted and shaped ideology, communicated norms of political and social activity, provided mechanisms of everyday political resistance, and acted as a potent source of community cohesion and solidarity. Beyond academia, I enjoy photography, cycling, and Irish traditional music.
