Megan McAuley

Megan McAuley is a first-year PhD candidate in the Department of History at Maynooth University. Megan graduated from Maynooth University with a BA in History and Nua-Ghaeilge and an MA in Irish History. Her research focuses on the lived experiences of children in Co. Donegal from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. She will consider themes such as gender, class, education, agency, child crime and punishment, health, welfare and institutionalisation. These themes will be analysed in local, provincial and nationwide contexts as Co. Donegal is situated significantly on the periphery of Ireland and the border of Northern Ireland following partition. Megan is particularly interested in the experiences of children who emigrated from Co. Donegal and minority groups who lived in or immigrated to the county. She hopes to unite local history with the theme of childhood and to rediscover the voices of children who have been forgotten in social histories of Irish childhood so far. As a recipient of the NUI Denis Phelan Scholarship, Megan will have the opportunity to undertake archival research in the US, UK and Australia, alongside visiting the Centre for the History of Childhood at Oxford University.