Tom Birkett

Emailt.birkettuccie

Research activity per year

Biography

Tom Birkett is a professor of Old English and Old Norse, and has twice been recipient of UCC's Researcher of the Year Award (the early career award in 2018, and overall researcher of the year award in 2024). Tom is currently leading the NorseMap Project, funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant and investigating the reception and legacy of the Vikings in Europe, having also led the World-Tree Project (funded by a 2015 IRC 'New Horizon's Grant'), and Eald to New (funded by an IRC 2014 'New Foundations' Grant). He has published co-edited collections in the area of Viking heritage, translation, and the Vikings in Munster, a monograph on runes in literature, two trade publications (Norse Myths and Legends of Norse Mythology), and articles in the areas of Old English literature, Old Norse poetry, runology, reception, and cultural heritage. His latest book, Runes: A Concise History, has been published by Oxford University Press.

Research Interests

Old English literature, particularly poetry and textual culture
Old Norse literature, and particularly sources for Norse mythology
The reception of medieval literature and culture
Translation and adaptation
The Viking as a historical phenomenon and cultural discourse
Cultural heritage and public uses of the past
Digital approaches to the study of early medieval literature and culture

Research Grants

Mapping the Reception and Legacy of the Vikings in Europe	Horizon Europe	01-JUN-25	31-MAY-30	€1,999,518.00
Mapping the Reception and Legacy of the Vikings in Europe	Enterprise Irl	30-MAY-24	02-MAY-26	€3,707.00
Gendered Trauma in Old English Literature (Robyn McAuliffe)	Irish Research Council	01-SEP-24	31-AUG-26	€62,000.00
Mapping Norse and Viking Heritage and Its Impact in the European Research Area	Enterprise Irl	30-SEP-22	29-SEP-23	€13,997.00
Developing the Old English Online Language Learning Tool and Interactive Online Course	National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education	01-NOV-19	31-MAY-21	€2,000.00
Mapping the reception and legacy of Norse and Viking cultures in Europe	Enterprise Irl	09-MAY-18	08-JUL-19	€5,367.00
The World Tree - An interactive Digital Archive for the Teaching and Study of the Vikings.	Irish Research Council	01-NOV-15	01-FEB-17	€94,966.00
Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship 2017 (Declan Taggart) "Rethinking old gods: An investigation of Old Norse conceptions of the divine"	Irish Research Council	01-OCT-17	30-SEP-19	€89,582.00
Vernacular Saints' Lives in England 900-1300 - Houmour Gender (Niamh Kehoe)	Irish Research Council	01-OCT-15	30-SEP-17	€48,000.00
From Eald to New: Translating Early Medieval Poetry for the 21st Century	Irish Research Council	01-JAN-14	15-NOV-14	€5,465.00

Teaching Activities

I am seconded to a research project for the period 2025-2030, and my teaching is largely limited to PhD supervision. Old English teaching at undergraduate and MA level is being offered by my colleague Dr Francesca Brooks.

Current PhD Students

Robyn McAuliffe	Gendered Violence in Old English Literature	2022-
Kevin Fylan	Norse Mythology in the MCU	2022-
Rosemary Kelly	Masculinities in Old English Literature	2024-
Eleanor Elizabeth Lynch	Ecocritical approaches to Old English and Old Norse Literature	2024-

UCC Futures (primary)

Future Humanities Institute

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):

SDG 4 Quality Education

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics where Tom Birkett is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.