Irish Studies Portal

The primary purpose of the Irish Studies collection is to support the teaching and research needs of the faculty and students in the Irish Studies Program. 

The collection reflects the multidisciplinary nature of the Irish Studies Program, with major strengths in history, language and literature in both English and Irish, music, and art.  Highlighted areas of strength and continuous collecting efforts include:

• Collected works and critical editions of major Irish and Anglo-Irish writers: novelists, poets, dramatists and related works of criticism.
• Extensive holdings in Irish Studies journal literature and current and historical newspapers.
• Monographic and serial collections covering all periods of Irish history.
• Reference works such as, electronic resources, biographies, bibliographies, encyclopedias and dictionaries.
• Government publications covering Ireland, Northern Ireland and England.
• Audio and video recordings, books and sheet music pertaining to Irish traditional music.

A growing percentage of newly published scholarly books are now available in both print and electronic formats. When selecting books in Irish Studies, e-books are preferred over print when they are essay collections and reference works because they are rarely read cover-to-cover and usage of such works is typically by individual essay or reference article which can be downloaded and printed. When selecting monographs, print is the preferred format. If a print or e-book has been added to the collection, users may always request acquisition of the title in the alternate format. Any e-book selected for the collection must meet the library’s selection criteria for e-books.

For information on how the collections at Boston College are being developed, visit the Collections page.

Please feel free to recommend items for the library collections by e-mailing Dr. Bee Lehman (they/them), History and Irish Studies Librarian, or Elizabeth Sweeney, Irish Music Librarian, Boston College.