Dr Tomás Finn

BA., MA., PhD

 
researcher
 

Biography

Tomás Finn is a lecturer in History at the University of Galway. He specialises in Irish and British history. An internationally recognised scholar, he is regarded as an authority on modern Irish political history. His research and publications have made a significant contribution to historical scholarship. The importance of his prize winning book on Tuairim in understanding the evolving intellectual climate in Ireland and its role in persuading governmental institutions to adopt new policies and a chapter on Donal Barrington, the Supreme Court Judge, in an edited volume have shown that public intellectuals in Ireland and among its diaspora, in fact, did influence the key policy decisions that shaped modern Ireland. This concern with intellectuals and social movements and the process of modernisation is reflected in his current work. He is currently co-editing two books and has chapters in each of these, one on Youth Political Parties and the other Muintir na Tire, the rural social movement. His work thus reflects the Department of History and School of History and Philosophy's ongoing research strengths in the areas of Activism and Justice, Religion and Society and Childhood, Youth and Family. He focuses on the intersection between intellectuals, civil society and church and state in understanding the process of modernisation. An active member of various professional societies, Dr Finn's publications have often flowed from his collaboration with these bodies and the different conferences he has organised at the University of Galway. He works closely with national and international colleagues in understanding the ways intellectuals interacted with civil society and sought to re-invent the governance of Ireland in cultural, social, political and economic terms. This facilitates the profile he has gained in the national and international media. 

Dr Finn has extensive teaching experience at the University of Galway. As a lecturer in the Discipline of History, the Centre for Irish Studies, the University's Youth Academy and through the International Irish Studies Summer School, he has responsibility for the creation, teaching and assessment of a wide variety of modules in a range of programmes, and at all academic levels. His modules include nineteenth and twentieth century Ireland and Britain as well as Irish and European history from the medieval and early modern periods. Research led and student centred, he is central to organising the Department of History's curriculum including leading and mentoring early career researchers.


Research Interests

My research interests include the role of intellectuals, Church-state relations, public policy, civil society, the Irish Diaspora and Northern Ireland.

Books

  Year Publication
(2012) Tuairim, intellectual debate and policy formulation: Rethinking Ireland, 1954-75.
Tomás Finn (2012) Tuairim, intellectual debate and policy formulation: Rethinking Ireland, 1954-75. Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2017) '‘‘Towards a Better Ireland’: Donal Barrington and the Irish Constitution’'
Tom Hickey (ed.) (2017) '‘‘Towards a Better Ireland’: Donal Barrington and the Irish Constitution’' In: Judges, Politics and the Irish Constitution. Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Details]

Other Journals

  Year Publication
(2006) 'Priests, politics and poetry: Tuairim in Limerick, 1954-197'
Tomás Finn (2006) 'Priests, politics and poetry: Tuairim in Limerick, 1954-197' History Studies, . [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2019) History of Ireland,
Tomás Finn (2019) 'From the Vikings to Armada: The Impact of Invasion; `Sligo & The Famine'; `Michael Davitt & The Land League'; `Michael Collins & Independence: A Unionist's View'. [Invited Oral Presentation], History of Ireland, Yeats Buidling, Sligo , 22-JAN-19 - 26-FEB-19. [Details]
(2018) Rural Ireland,
Tomás Finn (2018) Muintir na Tíre's relationship with church and state, c. 1940s-1960s, Rural Ireland: Ideals and Realities in the Twentieth Century. [Conference Organising Committee Chairperson], Rural Ireland, University of Galway , 07-JUN-18 - 08-JUN-18. [Details]
(2021) Conference of Irish Historians,
Tomás Finn (2021) Politics and the praxis of power: the political establishment and the talented young in post WWII Ireland. [Conference Organising Committee Member], Conference of Irish Historians, University of Galway , 21-MAY-21 - 23-MAY-21. [Details]
(2022) Dublin Eucharistic Congress,
Tomás Finn (2022) Politics, power and the art of persuasion in post WWII Ireland: Muintir na Tíre's relationship with church and state. [Invited Oral Presentation], Dublin Eucharistic Congress, Queen's University Belfast , 18-FEB-22 - 18-FEB-22. [Details]

Blog

  Year Publication
(2018) How revolutionary was Ireland in 1968?.
RTÉ (2018) How revolutionary was Ireland in 1968?. Blog [Details]
(2018) John Hume: the Derry boy who went global.
RTÉ (2018) John Hume: the Derry boy who went global. Blog [Details]
(2018) The challenge of an election for a sitting Irish president.
RTÉ (2018) The challenge of an election for a sitting Irish president. Blog [Details]
(2017) A test for the Taoiseach.
RTÉ (2017) A test for the Taoiseach. Blog [Details]
(2017) How should Liam Cosgrave be remembered?.
Moore Institute, NUI, Galway (2017) How should Liam Cosgrave be remembered?. Blog [Details]
(2017) Liam Cosgrave's legacy as Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader.
RTÉ (2017) Liam Cosgrave's legacy as Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader. Blog [Details]

Reviews

  Year Publication
(2009) Thornley, Yseult (ed.), Unquiet spirit: Essays in Memory of David Thornley.
Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society (2009) Thornley, Yseult (ed.), Unquiet spirit: Essays in Memory of David Thornley. Reviews [Details]
(2009) Ó hAnnracháin, Eoghan and Davey, Cathal, More than a Sporting Experience: 30 Years of Gaelic Games in Luxembourg.
Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society (2009) Ó hAnnracháin, Eoghan and Davey, Cathal, More than a Sporting Experience: 30 Years of Gaelic Games in Luxembourg. Reviews [Details]
(2017) Woodward, Guy, Culture, Northern Ireland and the Second World War.
English Historical Review (2017) Woodward, Guy, Culture, Northern Ireland and the Second World War. Oxford: Oxford University Press Reviews [Details]

Community Engagement

  Title Type From / To
Teaching (e.g. Service learning / comunity based learning) Lecturer /

Other Activities

  Description

A regular contributor to RTÉ and other media Work with Embassy of Poland In Ireland delivering workshops throughout Ireland on Paul Strzelecki's role saving children during the Great Famine https://strzelecki.ie/51194-2/

Teaching Interests

Teaching:

I teach a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, covering aspects of Irish, British and European history.


Undergraduate teaching:   

Ireland in the 1950’s: A lost decade?

The making and breaking of Britain in the Twentieth century

Northern Ireland

Irish Political thought in the 1930s

Irish Ideologies and Activists, 1905-1916

The practice of history: Historical reputations – Seán Lemass

Ireland since the Famine

Skills for Historians I and II

Writing the history of War & Society: Ireland and Europe in the Age of the French Revolution

Writing the history of War & Society: Ireland and Europe in the Age of the Great War


Postgraduate teaching:

Sources for Ireland and the Wider World

Sources for Irish Intellectual History

Sources in Irish History

North & South: A divided Ireland, 1945-1959

Mid Century Crisis: “Economic Development” as a new departure

Ireland in the 1950s: A decade of change?

Tuairim, cultural conservatism & a divided island, 1954-1975


Outreach teaching:

The weird stuff our Ancestors did: Ireland from the first human settlement to the Celtic Tiger, Youth Academy


Occasional lecturer:

Social History of Ireland, 1850-1922

Home Rule or Rome Rule?: Ireland, 1886-1918

Twentieth-century Northern Ireland 

Famine and Emigration in Ireland

The 'special position' of the Catholic Church in education





Internal Collaborators

  Name Description of Collaboration
Dr Sarah Anne Buckley and Dr Kevin O'Sullivan
Co-organisers of conference 'A peculiar society'?: Ireland, 1970s-1990s held on 24-25 April 2015 (https://ireland1970s1990s.wordpress.com)
Dr Caitríona Clear and Dr Tony Varley
- co-organisers of conference on Rural Ireland held on 7-8 June 2018 which celebrates the donation of the Muintir na Tíre Archive to James Hardiman Library, NUI, Galway.

External Collaborators

  Name Organisation / Institute Country Description of Collaboration
Borders and Boundaries Irish Committee of Historical Studies IRELAND
Organised conference http://www.historians.ie/cpf-33rd-irish-conference-of-historians-21-23-may-2020/