Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Ciara Chambers is Senior Lecturer in Film & Screen Media, University College Cork, President of the International Association for Media & History, a board member of Northern Ireland Screen and Chair of the Northern Ireland Moving Image Heritage and Archive Working Group. She is also an advisor to Atticus Education, the digital education company established by Oscar-winning film producer Lord David Puttnam. She is author of Ireland in the Newsreels (Irish Academic Press, 2012) and Outsider Cinema: Amateur and Independent Filmmaking in Northern Ireland, 1929-1989 (Edinburgh University Press, 2026), co-editor of Researching Newsreels (Palgrave, 2018) and has contributed chapters on archives, newsreels and amateur film to various journals and edited collections. She is currently working on the Make Film History project in partnership with Kingston University, BBC, the British Film Institute, Northern Ireland Screen and the Irish Film Institute. She was scriptwriter and associate producer of Ireland in the Newsreels, a six-part BAI-funded television series broadcast on TG4 and producer of the historical play Souls, Shadows and Secrets.
Research Interests
Newsreels; Amateur Film; Film History; Archives; Archival Appropriation; Use of Moving Images in Education.
Teaching Activities
Newsreels; Film History; Contemporary Cinema; Irish Non-fiction Film; Amateur Film; Archives and Archival Appropriation; Creative Reuse.
Current PhD Students
| Student Name | Supervision Period | Thesis Title |
| Bob Jackson | Based on a True Story: Cinematic Approaches to the Past | |
| Kasandra O'Connell | Out of Focus: The History and Development of Film Preservation in Ireland | |
| Catherine Owens | Investigating new methods of engagng audiences in artist-driven artistic approaches to immersive VR/AR | |
| Kane Geary O'Keeffe | Framing Diegetic Screen Technologies in Contemporary Horror Cinema | |
| Eleanor McSherry | A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis of Autism in Television Drama |
Recent PhD Students
| Student Name | Supervision Period | Thesis Title |
| Ellen Scally (University College Cork) | 2025 | Complicating the Nation: The Archival Legacies of Amateur Cine-culture in Ireland (1900-1984) |
| Ken Griffin (Ulster University) | 2014 | The Impact of Archival Silences on Historical Narratives surrounding Ulster Television |
| Orla Lafferty (Ulster University) | 2013 | Reporting the 'Troubles' at Ulster Television: An Archival Exploration from 1968-1998 |
| Jennifer Mooney (Ulster University) | 2012 | The Irish in Vaudeville and Early American Cinema |
Research Grants
| Funding Body | Title | Period | Award |
|
Irish Research Council |
Out of Focus- The History and Development of Film Preservation in Ireland (R22352) |
1/9/2024 - 31/8/2027 |
€93,000.00 |
|
Irish Research Council |
Cine-film across borders: the history and legacy of amateur production in Ireland (R20601) |
1/9/2021 - 31/8/2024 |
€82,500.00 |
|
Foreign Research Institute |
Make Film History: A New Platform for Archive-inspired Storytelling in Education (R22232) |
1/11/2023 - 31/12/2024 |
€21,398.00 |
|
Irish Research Council |
Make Film History (R19574) |
1/8/2020 - 31/3/2022 |
€12,489.00 |
|
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland |
Éire na Nuachtscannán (Ireland in the Newsreels) |
1/9/2015 - 26/10/2017 |
€189,000.00 |
|
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland |
Living with a PhD |
2/4/2018 - 1/12/2018 |
€2,000.00 |
|
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland |
Programmes & Interstitial Material, 1972–1983 |
2/9/2014 - 1/12/2016 |
€47,297.00 |
|
Other: Not Listed |
Mercedes: Spirit of a New Age |
1/9/2012 - 1/9/2014 |
€3,875.00 |
External positions
President, International Association for Media and History
30 Jun 2025 → …
Board Member, Northern Ireland Screen
1 Mar 2025 → …
Chair, Northern Ireland Moving Image Heritage and Archive Working Group, Northern Ireland Screen
1 Mar 2025 → …
UCC Futures (primary)
- Future Humanities Institute
Other research affiliations
- Centre for Arts Research and Practice (CARPE)
PhD Supervision
- Available for PhD supervision
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth -
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure -
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Outsider Cinema: Independent and Amateur Filmmaking in Northern Ireland, 1929-1989
Chambers, C. N., 2026, Edinburgh University Press. 312 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
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Ireland in the Newsreels
Chambers, C. N., 2012, Irish Academic Press. 314 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
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“I got a completely new perspective about how they do their jobs”: A mixed methods evaluation of a short film to promote nursing and midwifery as career options
Goodwin, J., Gough, R., Cattoni, J., Chambers, C., Cronin, S., Crowley, C., Curtin, M., Dalton, C., Keating, M.-T., Leahy-Warren, P., Martin, A.-M., McLoughlin, G., Murphy, M., Noonan, B., O’Brien, N., O’Leary, C., O’Malley, M. & McCarthy, V. J. C., 28 May 2026, In: Next Research. 10, 101944.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Ireland’s Animation Industry Workplace Demographics 2024-2025
Chambers, C. N. & Boland, M. J., 2025, Dublin: Animation Ireland. 69 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report › peer-review
Open Access -
Letter to the Editor
Chambers, C. N., 2025, Third Person Plural. Gegisian, A. (ed.). Büchs 'N' Books, p. 23 24 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedings › Chapter › peer-review
Activities
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Screening of Coup 53 and Q&A with director Taghi Amirani
Chambers, C. N. (Chair)
4 Jul 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participating in a conference, workshop, ...
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Women in Film: Voices and Perspectives (Fastnet Film Festival)
Chambers, C. N. (Chair)
23 May 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participating in a conference, workshop, ...
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Archives and Creative Reuse
Chambers, C. N. (Speaker)
12 May 2026Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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FROM THE VAULTS: IRELAND IN THE NEWSREELS / ÉIRE NA NUACHTSCANNÁN
Chambers, C. N. (Speaker)
9 Mar 2026Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
Prizes
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Excellence in Unlocking the Creative Potential of Archives
Chambers, C. N. (Recipient) & O'Sullivan, S. (Recipient), 2021
Prize
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Press/Media
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Historic Irish newsreels digitised and made available for free online
3/03/26
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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04 Nov 2025 John Creedon awarded honorary doctorate by University College Cork
Chambers, C. N. & O'Halloran, J.
4/11/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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Cork Film Festival 1965: Restored reels capture international stars on Leeside
3/11/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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11 Apr 2025 UCC Puttnam Scholars premiere short film 'Peggy'
11/04/25
2 items of Media coverage
Press/Media
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'Economic future rests on generation of gifted and committed teachers,' says David Puttnam
13/12/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
Datasets
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Cork International Film Festival Archive
Day, S. (Creator), O'Sullivan, J. (Creator), Kareem, C. (Creator), Chambers, C. N. (Creator) & Van Den Hurk, E. (Creator), University College Cork, 2020
Dataset