Prof Gerry Smyth
Humanities and Social Science
Faculty of Arts Professional and Social Studies
Email: G.A.Smyth@ljmu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0151 231 5121
ORCID
I was born and grew up in Dublin. After working in Spain for five years as a professional musician, I moved to Liverpool in 1986 where I took a degree in 'Literature, Life and Thought' at the Polytechnic, before going on to do an MA in Cultural Studies at the University of Lancaster, and a PhD at the University of Stafford.
I combine my academic and pedagogic interests with various musical and theatrical activities.
I have research interests in Irish literary history, James Joyce, modernism, music and literature, posthumanism and ecocriticism, and would welcome inquiries for doctoral research in any of these areas.
Degrees
1995, University of Staffordshire, United Kingdom, PhD
1991, University of Lancaster, United Kingdom, MA, Cultural Studies
1990, Liverpool Polytechnic, United Kingdom, BA (Hons), Literature, Life and Thought
Chapters
Smyth G. 2024. The Past, the Present and the Wonderful, Worrisome Future: Transculturalism, Memory and Crisis in Irish Studies Barros-del Rio MA. Transcultural Insights into Contemporary Irish Literature and Society: Breaking New Ground :179-191 Routledge 9781003428350 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Smyth G. 2022. Ethnicity and language British Cultural Identities, Sixth Edition :179-204 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. ‘Coda: Making Spaces, Saving Places: Modern Irish Popular Music and the Green Turn’ Mangaoang A, O'Flynn J, O Briain L. Made in Ireland: Studies in Popular Music (New York: Routledge, 2020) 8 :238-246 Routledge. New Yirk 978-1-138-33603-2
Smyth G. 2020. ‘The Role and Representation of Betrayal in the Irish Short Story since Joyce’ Harte L. The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Fiction :237-252 Oxford University Press. Oxford 978-0-19-875489-3
Smyth G. 2020. ‘Irish Literary Criticism During the Revival’ Howes M. Irish Literature in Transition 1880-1940 4 :339-355 Cambridge University Press. Cambridge 978-1-108-48045-1 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. Making spaces, saving places: Modern irish popular music and the green turn Made in Ireland: Studies in Popular Music :238-246 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. Listening for the Music of What Happens: The Education of Stephen Dedalus Palgrave Studies in Music and Literature :145-165 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. Joyce, George Moore and the Irish Wagnerian Novel Palgrave Studies in Music and Literature :123-143 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. Joyce and Music a Critical Fantasia Palgrave Studies in Music and Literature :3-40 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. Here Comes Everybody! Remembering Joyce’s Music Palgrave Studies in Music and Literature :41-63 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. Echo and Repetition in Chamber Music Palgrave Studies in Music and Literature :97-122 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. A Shout in the Street: Listening to the City in ‘Wandering Rocks’ Palgrave Studies in Music and Literature :187-211 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. Another Listen to the Music in ‘A Mother’ Palgrave Studies in Music and Literature :167-185 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. ‘Not About Something … that Something Itself’: Musical Joyce and the Critics Palgrave Studies in Music and Literature :65-94 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. ‘But Low, Boys Low, He Rises’: Joyce, Sea Shanties and the Irish Atlantic Palgrave Studies in Music and Literature :213-238 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 2017. Institutions of Criticism Connolly C, Howes M. Irish Literature in Transition Cambridge University Press. Cambridge Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 2017. Joyce, Betrayal and Modern Irish Fiction Harte, L. The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Fiction Oxford University Press. Oxford Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2016. 'The Orchestra of Memory': Music, Sound and Silence in Dermot Healy's 'A Goat's Song' Hopper K, Murphy C. Writing the sky: observations and essays on Dermot Healy Dalkey Archive Press. Champaign, Ill Publisher Url Public Url
Smyth GA. 2016. About Nothing, About Everything: Listening in / to Tim Robinson Gladwin D, Cusick C. Unfolding Irish Landscapes: Tim Robinson, Culture and Environment :173-189 Manchester University Press. Manchester 978-0719099472 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2014. 'Join Us': Musical Style and Identity in Bernard MacLaverty's 'My Dear Palestrina' Rankin Russell R. Bernard MacLaverty: New Critical Readings :45-61 Bloomsbury. London Publisher Url Public Url
Smyth GA. 2014. Popular Music and the Celtic Tiger Maher E, O'Brien E. From Prosperity to Austerity: A socio-Cultural Critique of the Celtic Tiger and its Aftermath :76-88 Manchester University Press 978-0-7190-9168-1 Publisher Url Public Url
Smyth GA. 2011. No Country for Young Women: Celtic Music, Dissent and the Irish Female Body Peddie I. I Dream a World: Popular Music and Human Rights 2 - World Music :119-129 Ashgate Publishing. Aldershot 9780754668534
Smyth GA. 2011. Waiting for the Performance to Begin: Ishiguro's Musical Imagination Groes S, Lewis B. Kazuo Ishiguro: New Critical Visions of the Novels :144-156 Palgrave Macmillan. Basingstoke 978-0-230-23238-9
Smyth GA. 2008. The Moment of Kavanagh’s Weekly Smith S. Patrick Kavanagh :55-71 Irish Academic Press. London 978-0-7165-28937
Smyth GA, Campbell S. 2008. From Shellshock Rock to Ceasefire Sounds: Popular Music in Northern Ireland Coulter C, Murray M. Northern Ireland after the Troubles :232-252 Manchester University Press. Manchester 978-0719074417
Smyth GA. 2008. Paddy Sad and Paddy Mad: Music and the Condition of Irishness Considère-Charon M, Laplace P, Savaric M. The Irish Celebrating: Festive and Tragic Overtones :58-70 Cambridge Scholars Press. Newcastle-upon-Tyne 9781847184078
Smyth G. 2006. 'You understand what domestic architecture ought to be, you do': Finding Home in 'The Wind in the Willows' Smyth G, Croft JS. Our house: the representation of domestic space in modern culture :43-62 Rodopi. Amsterdam Publisher Url Public Url
Smyth GA. 2006. Listening to the Future: Music and Irish Studies Harte L, Whelan Y. Ireland Beyond Boundaries: Mapping Irish Studies in the Twenty-First Century :198-215 Pluto. London
Smyth GA. 2000. ‘The Right to the City: Re-presentations of Dublin in Contemporary Irish Fiction’ Harte L, Parker M. Contemporary Irish Fiction: Themes, Tropes, Theories :13-34 Macmillan. Basingstoke
Smyth GA. 2000. ‘The Politics of Hybridity: Some Problems with Crossing the Border’ Bery A, Murray P. , in Dislocations: Comparing Postcolonial Literatures :43-58 Macmillan. Basingstoke Author Url
Smyth GA. 1999. ‘Decolonization and Criticism: Towards a Theory of Irish Critical Discourse’ Graham C, Kirkland R. The Mechanics of Authenticity: Contemporary Irish Cultural Criticism :24-49 Macmillan and St Martin’s Press. Basingstoke and New York
Smyth GA. 1998. The Psychotic Tradition: Fantasy and Madness in the Contemporary Irish Novel Sammels N, Marshall A. Irish Encounters: Poetry, Politics and Prose Since 1880 :152-164 Sulis Press. Bath 978-0952685647
Smyth GA. 1998. The Past, The Post and the Utterly Changed: Intellectual Responsibility and Irish Cultural Criticism Sammels N, Briggs S, Hyland P. Reviewing Ireland: Essays and Interviews from Irish Studies Review :240-249 Sulis Press. Bath 978-0952685661
Smyth GA. 1997. Ethnicity and Language Childs P, Storry M. British Cultural Identities :241-276
Smyth GA. 1996. Writing about Writing and National Identity Hill T, Hughes W. Contemporary Writing and National Identity :8-17 Sulis Press. Bath 978-0952685609
Smyth GA. 1994. Irish Studies in the 1990s: Contexts and Communities La Europa de los Pueblos: Voz Y Forma :141-156 Portico Librerias. Zaragoza
Smyth G. History and the Irish Novel after 1970 Morash C. Cambridge History of the Irish Novel 1 Cambridge University Press. Cambridge
Smyth G. 'There is no better way to heal yourself than singing in a choir': Music, Trauma, and Silence in Colm Toibin's Nora Webster (2014) Companion to the Contemporary Irish Novel 1 Syracuse University Press. Syracuse, USA
Books (authored)
Smyth G. 2020. Music and Sound in the Life and Literature of James Joyce: Joyces Noyces :3-260 Palgrave Macmillan. New York 978-3030612054 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2020. Sailor's Song: The Shanties and Ballads of the High Seas :1-160 British Library Press. London 978-0712353700
Smyth GA. 2016. Music and Irish Identity: Celtic Tiger Blues Routledge 978-1472442727 Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2015. The Judas kiss :1-248
Smyth GA. 2015. The Judas Kiss: Treason and Betrayal in Six Modern Irish Novels :i-248 Manchester University Press. Manchester 978-0-7190-8853-7 Author Url Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2005. Noisy Island: A Short History of Irish Popular Music Cork Univ Pr
Campbell S, Smyth G. 2005. Beautiful Day: Forty Years of Irish Rock Attic Pr 9780953535354
Smyth G. 2001. Space and the Irish Cultural Imagination Palgrave Macmillan 9780333794074
Ashplant TG, Smyth G. 2001. Explorations in Cultural History Pluto Pr 9780745315126
Smyth G. 1998. Decolonisation and Criticism: The Construction of Irish Literature Pluto Pr 9780745312323
Smyth G. 1997. The Novel and the Nation: Studies in the New Irish Fiction Pluto Pr
Journal article
Smyth GA. 2019. Displacing the Nation: Performance, Style and Sex in Eimear McBride's The Lesser Bohemians Studi Irlandesi : a Journal of Irish Studies, 9 :161-178 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Smyth G. 2019. ‘Gardens All Wet With Rain’: Pastoralism in the Music of Van Morrison Collins L, Deckard S. Irish University Review, 49 :171-187 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
O Donghaile D, Smyth G. 2018. Remapping Irish modernism Irish Studies Review, 26 :297-303 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Smyth G. 2017. Shanty singing and the Irish Atlantic: Identity and hybridity in the musical imagination of Stan Hugill International Journal of Maritime History, 29 :387-406 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Smyth G. 2014. 'Trust not appearances': Political and personal betrayal in James Joyce's Ulysses Irish University Review, 44 :254-271 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Smyth GA. 2013. Two dramatic treatments of the ‘Déirdre’ legend: a case study in Irish betrayal Irish Studies Review, 21 :164-177 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth G. 2012. Column: What’s the point of our national anthem today? [Sing when you're winning: the national anthem debate] TheJournal.ie, Publisher Url Public Url
Smyth G. 2012. The Representation of Dublin in Story and Song Prospero: Revista di Letterature e Culture straniere, XVII :203-218 Publisher Url Public Url
Smyth G. 2012. Irish national identity after the celtic tiger Estudios Irlandeses, 7 :132-137 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 2010. ‘Irish Music: What It Is and What We Think It Is’ Irish Studies Review, 18 :359-363 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 2010. Music and Irish Cultural History Anglofiles: Journal of English Teaching, :46-51
Smyth GA. 2007. Tiger, Theory, Technology: A Meditation on the Development of Modern Irish Cultural Criticism Irish Studies Review, 15.2 :123-136
Smyth GA. 2005. Bringing It All Back Home? The Dynamics of Local Music-making in 'The Commitments’ An Sionnach, 1 :21-40
Smyth GA. 2004. Place, Noise, Nation: Toward a Spatial Analysis of Irish Popular Music Études Irlandaises, 29 :75-89
Smyth GA. 2004. Ireland Unplugged: The Roots of Irish Folk / Trad. (Con)Fusion Irish Studies Review, 12 :87-97
Smyth GA. 2004. Introduction: The Isle is Full of Noises - Music in Contemporary Ireland Irish Studies Review, 12 :3-10
Norquay G, smyth G. 2003. 'Waking Up in a Different Place' Irish Review, :28-45
Smyth GA. 2002. ‘The same sound but with a different meaning': Music, Politics and Identity in Bernard Mac Laverty’s 'Grace Notes’ Eire-Ireland: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Irish Studies, 37 :5-24
Smyth GA. 2001. Waking Up in a Different Place: Contemporary Irish and Scottish Fiction The Irish Review, :28-45 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 2000. Shite and Sheep: An Ecocritical Perspective on Two Recent Irish Novels Irish University Review: a journal of Irish studies, :163-178
Smyth GA. 1999. ‘Irish Studies, Postcolonial Theory and the “New” Essentialism’ Graham C, Maley W. Irish Studies and Postcolonial Theory: A Special Number of the Irish Studies Review, 7.2 :211-220 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 1999. ‘Hippies, Liberals and the Ecocritical Sublime’ Keywords: A Journal of Cultural Materialism, 2 :94-110
Smyth GA. 1997. ‘Being Difficult: The Irish Writer in Britain’ Éire-Ireland: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Irish Studies, 31.3, 4 :41-57
Smyth GA. 1997. The Crying Game: Postcolonial or Postmodern? Paragraph: A Journal of Modern Critical Theory, 20 :154-173 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 1997. The Location of Criticism: Irishness and Hybridity The Journal of Victorian Culture, 2 :129-138 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 1996. ‘The natural course of things”: Matthew Arnold, Celticism, and the English Poetic Tradition The Journal of Victorian Culture, 1 :35-53 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 1995. Amateurs and Textperts: Studying Irish Traditional Music Irish Studies Review, :2-10 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 1995. In Name Only: Joyce in the Institution New Odyssey: A Journal of Joycean Studies, 2 :4-5
Smyth GA. 1995. The Past, The Post, and the Utterly Changed: Intellectual Responsibility and Irish Cultural Criticism’ Irish Studies Review, :25-29 DOI Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 1992. Who's the Greenest of Them All? Irishness and Popular Music Irish Studies Review, :3-5
Other
Smyth GA. 2016. What the Brother Did in 1916 Irish Studies Review, DOI Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 2014. 'Introduction :2-3
Smyth GA. 2014. Foreword :xi-xii Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 2013. Twenty-seven entries amounting to 6,500 words in the Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland (Dublin: University College Dublin Press, 2013). White H.
Smyth GA. 2005. ‘Cybercriticism’, ‘Differend’, ‘Ecocriticism’, and ‘Rhizome’
Smyth GA. 2005. Irish Literature Booker MK. 2 :369-371
Smyth GA. 2001. Focus interview in the British Association for Irish Studies Newsletter 28 (October 2001), 2-6 British Association for Irish Studies Newsletter, :2-6
Smyth GA. 1998. Research Resources in the Humanities and Media & Cultural Studies :1-110
Smyth GA. 1996. 'Contemporary Irish Literature' entry in The Rough Guide to Ireland :608-617
Composition
Smyth GA. 2015. Nora & Jim
Smyth GA. 2013. Will the Real Flann O'Brien ...? A Life in Five Scenes
Smyth GA. 2012. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music': New 'Folkish' Settings of the Thirty-Six Lyrics
Smyth GA. 2011. 'The Brother'
Book review
Smyth GA. 2015. Matthew Schultz, Haunted Historiographies: The Rhetoric of Ideology in Postcolonial Irish Fiction Canadian Journal of Irish Studies,
Smyth GA. 2014. Susan H. Motherway, The Globalization of Irish Traditional Song Performance Popular Music, :551-552
Smyth GA. 2013. Angela Moran, Irish Music Abroad: Diasporic Sounds in Birmingham Popular Music, :552-553
Smyth GA. 2013. George O'Brien, The Irish Novel 1960-2010 Irish Studies Review, :370-371
Smyth GA. 2013. Conor Carville, The Ends of Ireland: Criticism, History, Subjectivity Irish Studies Review, :249-251
Smyth GA. 2012. Derek Hand, A History of the Irish Novel Estudios Irlandeses, :312-314 Publisher Url
Smyth GA. 2011. Peter Mills, Hymns to the Silence: Inside the Words and Music of Van Morrison Irish Studies Review, :242-244
Smyth GA. 2008. John Wilson Foster (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Irish Novel Estudios Irlandeses, :209-211
Smyth GA. 2008. Wanda Balzano, Anne Mulhall and Moynagh Sullivan (eds), Irish Postmodernisms and Popular Culture Irish Studies Review, :85-86
Smyth GA. 2002. Edna Longley and Declan Kiberd, Multiculturalism: The View from the Two Irelands Irish Studies Review, :341-342
Smyth GA. 2002. June Skinner Sawyers, The Complete Guide to Celtic Music: From the Highland Bagpipe and Riverdance to U2 and Enya Popular Music, :156-158
Smyth GA. 2001. U2, 'All That You Can’t Leave Behind', and Sinead O’Connor, 'Faith and Courage' Irish Studies Review, :288-290
Smyth GA. 2001. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, 'Who Do We Think We Are? Imagining the New Britain' The Journal for the Study of British Cultures, :98-99
Smyth GA. 2000. Hugo Hamilton, 'Sad Bastard' Irish Studies Review, :179-181
Smyth GA. 2000. P.J. Mathews, 'New Voices in Irish Criticism' Irish Times, :10-10
Smyth GA. 1999. Ciaran Carson, 'Last Night’s Fun: A Book about Music, Food and Time' Irish Studies Review, :137-138
Smyth GA. 1999. Harry White, The Keeper's Recital: Music and Cultural History in Ireland Irish Studies Review, :156-158
Smyth GA. 1998. Review of Joep Leerssen, Remembrance and Imagination: Patterns in the Historical and Literary Imagination of Ireland in the Nineteenth Century Irish Studies Review, :188-189
Smyth GA. 1997. Emma Donoghue, Hood; Mary Morrissey, Mother of Pearl; Kate O’Riordan, Involved Irish Studies Review, :51-53
Smyth GA. 1996. Colin Bateman, Three Novels Irish Studies Review, :49-51
Smyth GA. 1994. David Lloyd, 'Anomalous States: Irish Writing and the Post-colonial Moment' Irish Studies Review, 7 :44-45
Smyth GA. 1993. Brian Friel, Wonderful tennessee Irish Studies Review, 4 :27-28
Smyth GA. 1993. Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature Irish Studies Review, 3.2 :336-338
Dataset
Smyth GA. 2015. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music': An Online Learning Resource
Books (edited)
2006. Our House: The Representation of Domestic Space in Contemporary Culture Smyth GA, Croft J. 1 :11-268 Rodopi. Amsterdam Publisher Url
2002. Across the margins Norquay G, Smyth GA. Manchester Univ Pr 9780719057496
1998. Space and Place: The Geographies of Literature Norquay G, Smyth GA. :9-413 Liverpool John Moores University Press. Liverpool Publisher Url
1998. Space and Place: The Geographies of Literature Norquay G, Smyth GA. :9-413 Liverpool John Moores University Press. Liverpool Publisher Url
Thesis/Dissertation
Smyth GA. 1994. Decolonisation and Criticism: A Study of the Relationship between Political Decolonisation and Literary Criticism in Ireland, with Special Emphasis on the Period 1948-1958 Richards S. University of Staffordshire
Performance
Smyth GA. The Brother
Smyth GA. Will the Real Flann O'Brien ...? A Life in Five Scenes
Smyth GA. Will the Real Flann O'Brien ...? A Life in Five Scenes
Smyth GA. The Brother
Smyth GA. A performance of my one-act play 'The Brother' based on the work of Flann O'Brien
Smyth GA. 'The Brother'
Smyth GA. 'The Brother'
Smyth GA. 'The Brother'
Smyth GA. 'The Brother'
Smyth GA. 'The Brother'
Smyth GA. 'The Brother'
Smyth GA. 'The Brother'
Smyth GA. Will the Real Flann O'Brien...? A Life in Five Scenes
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. Nora & Jim
Smyth GA. The Brother
Smyth GA. The Brother
Smyth GA. The Brother
Smyth GA. The Brother
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. James Joyce's 'Chamber Music'
Smyth GA. Roll & Go: Songs of Liverpool and the Sea
Smyth GA. Roll & Go: Songs of Liverpool and the Sea
Smyth GA. Roll & Go: Songs of Liverpool and the Sea
Smyth GA. Roll & Go: Songs of Liverpool and the Sea
Smyth GA. Roll & Go: Songs of Liverpool and the Sea
Smyth GA. Roll & Go: Songs of Liverpool and the Sea
Smyth GA. Roll & Go: Songs of Liverpool and the Sea
Smyth GA. Shanty Mob: Songs of Liverpool and the Sea
Smyth G. Will The Real Flann O'Brien... A Life in Five Scenes
Smyth G. Will The Real Flann O'Brien...A Life in Five Scenes
Smyth G. Will The Real Flann O'Brien...? A Life in Five Scenes
Smyth G. The Brother
Smyth G. The Brother
Smyth G. The Brother
Sherlock A, Smyth G. A Drink With Brendan Behan. Stage Play
Conference organisation:
Liverpool - Music - Sea, Symposium. 2020
Marginal Irish Modernisms 1, Co-organiser. 2015
Reading Spaces/Spaces of Reading, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Organiser. 2009
Finding the House, Leaving the Home, Co-organiser. 2006
Space and Place: The Geographies of Literature, Principal Organiser. 1996
External PGR examinations performed:
Western Sydney University, PhD, Venturing in the Slipstream: The Places of Van Morrison's Songwriting. 2020
Murdoch University, Australia, PhD, Music Matters in Fiction: Creative and Cultural Reflections. 2015
City University of Hong Kong, PhD, Music Figures, Inspiration and the Performance of Identity in the Contemporary Transnational Novel. 2015
University of Western Australia, PhD, Riding the Tiger: 1990-2011 in the Fictional Families of Colm Tóibín, Anne Enright and Roddy Doyle. 2015
Queen's University, Belfast, PhD, The Mnemonic and Performative Function of Song in Selected Irish Plays 1951-1964. 2013
University of Edinburgh, Joseph Greenwood, PhD, The Cynic Sensibility in British Popular Literature and Music, 1950-1987. 2012
University of Limerick, Keiran Curran, PhD, Vagabonds of the Western Worlds: Continuities, Tensions and the Development of Irish Rock Music 1968-78. 2011
University of Limerick, Damian Shortt, PhD, The State of the Nation: Nation, Religion and Gender in the Work of Dermot Bolger. 2006
University of Sussex, Matteo Cullen, PhD, Identity Politics and Textual Discourse in Post-Partition Ireland. 1998
Editorial boards:
Palgrave Studies in Music and Literature, Board Member. 2017
Irish Studies Review, Editorial Advisor. 2011
Other invited event:
James Joyce's 'Chamber Music' - Selections from a New Version, Cheltenham Poetry Festival, A concert of selected material from my CD of song treatments of the lyrics included in James Joyce's book 'Chamber Music' (1907). 2016
Nora & Jim, Joe H. Makin Theatre, Liverpool, A performance of an original, two-actor play as part of the Liverpool Irish Festival. 2015
Will the Real Flann O'Brien ...? A Life in Five Scenes, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, A performance of an original, three-actor play at the conference of the International Flann O'Brien Society. 2015
'The Brother', University of Lille, France, A performance of 'The Brother' at the conference for the International Association for the Study of Irish Literature,. 2014
James Joyce Summer School, University of Trieste, Italy, Plenary Lecture and Performance of Selected Material from James Joyce's Chamber Music. 2013
Shanty Performance, Merseyside Maritime Museum, A performance of selected shanty material at Liverpool's Maritime Museum as part of the River Festival.. 2013
Performance of selected material from James Joyce's Chamber Music., Liverpool Central Library, A performance of selected material from an original musical version of Joyce's poetry cycle, to celebrate the re-opening of Liverpool Central Library.. 2013
'The Brother', Kings College, University of Aberdeen, A commissioned performance of an original two-man play as part of the University of Aberdeen's May Festival.. 2013
'The Brother', Elelanor Rathbone Theatre, University of Liverpool, A commissioned performance of an original two-man play for the Institute of Irish Studies at Liverpool University.. 2013
Selections from James Joyce's Chamber Music: Tour, Nejmegen (Holland); Brussels, Kortrijk, Leuven (Belgium); Reyjkavik (Iceland); Lille, Paris, Rennes (France), A tour of various European cultural institutions funded by EFACIS, the European Federation for Associations and Centres of Irish Studies, performing selections from an original musical version of Joyce's poetry cycle.. 2013
Betrayal and Irish Cultural History, Irish World Heritage Centre (Manchester, A public talk on the subject of my current research. 2012
'The Brother', Trieste, Italy, Performance of one-act, two-man play entitled 'The Brother' written by Gery Smyth, before the James Joyce Conference.. 2012
James Joyce Summer School, Trieste, Italy, Plenary Lecture. 2012
New Directions in Irish Music and Dance, Irish Studies Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway, Plenary Lecture. 2012
Litpop: Writing and Popular Music, University of Northumbria, Keynote Lecture entitled ‘Waiting for the Performance to Begin: The Musical Imagination of Kazuo Ishiguro’. 2011
Irish Theatrical Diaspora Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, Plenary Lecture entitled ‘Stereotyping and the Musical “Text-as-Event”: The Case of the Pogues’. 2011
In Conversation with Novelist Douglas Cowie, Liverpool Hope, Cornerstone Everton Campus, A public event at the Liverpool Hope Literary Festival. 2008
Liverpool Hope Literary Festival, Liverpool Hope, Cornerstone Everton Campus, A Public Conversation with American Novelist Douglas Cowie. 2008
Travel: Across the Disciplines (Inaugural Liverpool Travel Seminar), University of Liverpool, Plenary Lecture entitled ‘The English Traveller in Ireland in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries'. 2007
Research Grants Awarded:
Arts and Humanities Research Council, Marginal Irish Modernisms, St Mary's University (Twickenham), Trinity College (Dublin), Grant value (£): £30,000, Duration of research project: 14 months. 2015
Arts and Humanities Research Council, Shanty Mob, Grant value (£): £500, Duration of research project: 6 months. 2015
Conference presentation:
“I Have Left My Book”: Setting Joyce’s 'Chamber Music' Lyrics to Music, International Association for the Study of Irish Literature, University of York, Oral presentation. 2015
Thinking in Circles: Music and Cyclical Form in Joyce’s 'Chamber Music', Attridge at 70, University of York, Oral presentation. 2015
The Judas Kiss: Treason and Betrayal in the Modern Irish Novel, Embodying / Disembodying Ireland, University Charles de Gaulle, Lille, Oral presentation. 2014
Betrayal and the Everyday in 'Dubliners', 100 Years of 'Dubliners', James Joyce Centre, Parnell Square, Dublin, Oral presentation. 2014
Ireland and Irishness in the Maritime Musical Imagination of Stan Hugill, Atlantic Sounds International Conference, University of Liverpool, Oral presentation. 2014
'Trust Not Appearances': Betrayal in Joyce’s Early Work, James Joyce Summer School, University of Trieste, Italy, Oral presentation. 2013
Roll and Go: Songs of Liverpool and the Sea, Atlantic Sounds, Open University, Camden Town, London, Oral presentation. 2013
Music and the Grain of the (Irish) Voice, University of Vienna Visiting Speaker Programme, University of Vienna, Austria, Oral presentation. 2012
Val Doonican and the Grain of the (Irish) Voice, A Special Relationship? Irish Popular Music in England, Northumbria University, Newcastle, Oral presentation. 2012
Cyclical Form in Irish Culture: A Musical Model?, The Seim Anew?” Cyclical Patterns in Contemporary Ireland - Cultural Memory, Literature and Society, University of Trieste, Italy, Oral presentation. 2012
Musical Stereotyping and Irish Identity: The Case of The Pogues, Cómhrá Cheoil: New Directions in Irish Music and Dance Studies, National University of Ireland, Galway, Oral presentation. 2012
'I Have Left My Book': Setting Irish Literature to Music, Literature and Music, University of Sibiu, Romania, Oral presentation. 2012
Treason and Betrayal in Modern Irish Fiction: A Timely Project, Ireland: Arrivals and Departures, University of Salford, Oral presentation. 2011
Waiting for the Performance to Begin: The Musical Imagination of Kazuo Ishiguro, Litpop: Writing and Popular Music, University of Northumbria, Newcastle, Oral presentation. 2011
Stereotyping and the Musical “Text-as-Event”: The Case of The Pogues, Irish Theatrical Diaspora Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, Oral presentation. 2010
No Country for Young Women: Celtic Music, Dissent and the Irish Female Body, American Conference for Irish Studies, LaGuardia College, New York, USA, Oral presentation. 2008
Music, Modernism and Memory in Joyce and Proust, British Association for Irish Studies Annual Conference, University of Liverpool, Oral presentation. 2007
The English Traveller in Ireland in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Travel: Across the Disciplines, University of Liverpool, Oral presentation. 2007
The Representation of Irish Traditional Music in Contemporary Fiction, Sean O Riada Memorial Lecture, University College, Cork, Oral presentation. 2007
Celtic Music: From Periphery to Centre (And Back Again?, Peripheral Cultures, University of La Coruna, Spain, Oral presentation. 2006
The Life and Interesting Times of Augusta Holmes, Visiting Academic's Public Lecture, Princess Grace Irish Library, Monaco, Oral presentation. 2006
Paddy Sad and Paddy Mad: Popular Music and the Condition of Irishness, The Festive and the Tragic in Ireland, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France, Oral presentation. 2006
Before the Tiger Roared: Irish Criticism in the 1980s, Speaking of the Nation: Critical Discourse in Modern Ireland, Princess Grace Irish Library Biennial Symposium, Monaco, Oral presentation. 2004
Music, Liverpool, Irishness, The American Conference for Irish Studies, The Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool, Oral presentation. 2004
The Sound of Things to Come: Irish Popular Music and the Imagination of Change, Changing Ireland, Nottingham Trent University, Oral presentation. 2003
'Why exactly - d’yis want to be in a group?’ Music and Motivation in 'The Commitments’, Diverse Voices in Irish Literature, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Oral presentation. 2003
Theoretical Contexts for the Study of Identity and Cultural Diversity in Irish Writing, Identity and Cultural Diversity in Irish Writing, Trinity College, Dublin, Oral presentation. 2003
Ireland Unplugged: Folk and Traditional Music in Ireland in the 1960s’, Irish Visiting Professorship Public Lecture, Charles University, Prague, Oral presentation. 2003
Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Study of Contemporary Scottish and Irish Fiction, ImagiNations: Irish and Scottish Fiction, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Oral presentation. 2003
Some Notes on the Politics of Music in Bunting, Moore and Rousseau, Northwestern Iris Studies Seminar, University fo Central Lancashire, Oral presentation. 2002
Nothing but the Same Old Story? Celtic Music and the Limits of Irishness, Ireland and Europe in a Time of Change, University of Aarhus, Denmark, Oral presentation. 2001
Music, Politics and Repetition in Bernard Mac Laverty’s 'Grace Notes’, Odysseys: International Association for the Study of Irish Literature, Dublin City University, Oral presentation. 2001
Desert Imagery on U2’s 'The Joshua Tree’, Staff-Student Research Seminar, Liverpool John Moores University, Oral presentation. 2001
Space and the Irish Critical Imagination, The Untold Land: Space, Place and Location in Scottish and Irish Culture, Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies, University of Aberdeen, Oral presentation. 2001
New Trends in Irish Studies, Société Française d’Études Irlandaises, Millennium Conference, University of Notre Dame, Newman House, Dublin, Oral presentation. 2000
Big Mistakes in Small Places: Exterior and Interior Space in Seamus Deane’s Reading in the Dark, Keynote Lecture at Modern Ireland 1949-2000, University of Sussex, Oral presentation. 1999
Do Irish Men Dream of Electric Sheep? Love, Empathy and Animals in Anne Haverty’s 'One Day as a Tiger’, argins, Mainstreams and Moving Frontiers: An Interdisciplinary Conference, Bath Spa University College, Oral presentation. 1999
The Right to the City: James Joyce and the Re-presentation of Dublin in Contemporary Irish Fiction, The James Joyce International Summer School, University College, Dublin, Oral presentation. 1999
Irish Studies, Postcolonial Theory and the “New” Essentialism, Defining Colonies, National University of Ireland, Galway, Oral presentation. 1999
The Dublin Thriller, Consumption: Fantasy, Success and Desire, Liverpool John Moores University, Oral presentation. 1998
Space and the Irish Cultural Imagination, Culture and Environment, Bath Spa University College, Oral presentation. 1998
Decolonisation and Criticism: Towards a Theory of Irish Critical Discourse’, ish for the Millennium: Council for College and University English, Loughborough University, Oral presentation. 1996
Fantasise to Survive: The Dream Motif in Contemporary Irish Fiction, Dreaming the Nation, Centre for British and Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Warwick, Oral presentation. 1996
“Mad indeed”: Insanity in the Contemporary Irish Novel, Irish Encounters: Literature, History & Culture, Bath College of Higher Education, Oral presentation. 1996
Science, Culture, Politics: “Naturally”, Anthopology, Colonialism, Post-Colonialism, St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland, Oral presentation. 1996
The Politics of Blur: Some Problems with Crossing the Border, Border Crossings: Comparative and Interdisciplinary Approaches to Post-colonial Literatures, University of North London, Oral presentation. 1996
In Name Only: Joyce in the Institution, Representing Re-presenting Ireland, University of Sunderland, Oral presentation. 1995
Irish Guitar-playing Styles, Representing Re-presenting Ireland, University of Sunderland, Other. 1995
Two Ways of Stating the Nation: Patrick Pearse and the Declaration of the Irish Nation, Citizenship and Cultural Frontiers, University of Stafford, Oral presentation. 1994
Writing about Writing and National Identity, Writing and National Identity, Bath College of Higher Education, Oral presentation. 1994
Guitar and Song Recital, Region, Voice and Form, University of the Basque Country, Vittoria, Spain, Oral presentation. 1994
Irish Studies in the 1990s: Contexts and Communities, Region, Voice and Form, University of the Basque Country, Vittoria, Spain, Oral presentation. 1994
Decolonisation and Criticism, taff Research Seminar at Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool John Moores University, Oral presentation. 1994
Wilde, Connolly, and the Margins of Irish Cultural Debate, Traces, Margins, Journeys, University of Kent at Canterbury, Oral presentation. 1993
Funny Strange or Funny Ha-Ha? Comedy and Creativity in Flann O’Brien’s 'At Swim-Two-Birds’, International Association for the Study of Anglo-Irish Literature, Trinity nCollege, Dublin, Oral presentation. 1992
‘Real Men: O’Faolain, O’Connell and the Irish People’, Lipman Seminar on Ireland, Ruskin College, Oxford, Oral presentation. 1992
Award:
Best Essay of the Year, Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland. 2013
Michael J. Durkin Prize for Best Book in Literary or Cultural Studies for Music in Irish Cultural History (2009), American Conference for Irish Studies, http://www.acisweb.com/index.php. 2010
Michael J. Durkan Prize for Best Book published in Literary Criticism, Arts Criticism or Cultural Studies, American Conference for Irish Studies. 1999
Derek Elders Prize for Highest Mark in Cohort, Department of English, Liverpool Polytechnic. 1990
Teaching qualification:
Fellow of the Higher Education Authority.. 2012
Fellowships:
Visiting Professor of Irish Studies, University of Vienna. 2010
Visiting Academic, Princess Grace Irish Library, Monaco. 2006
Visiting Professor of Irish Studies, Charles University, Prague. 2003
Media Coverage:
'Danny Boy' - The Ballad that Bewitched the World, Friday, November 2013. (opens in a new tab)
Talking Head on 'Val Doonican Rocks!', broadcast on BBC4 Television on Easter Sunday 2009 and three times subsequently.