Eugene Costello
Research Profile
Eugene Costello
Contact Details
Lecturer and Principal Investigator
T: +353214902551
E: ecostello@ucc.ie
https://www.ucc.ie/en/future-humanities/radicalhumanitieslaboratory/
T: +353214902551
E: ecostello@ucc.ie
https://www.ucc.ie/en/future-humanities/radicalhumanitieslaboratory/
Biography
I am a historian and archaeologist with an interest in farming practices and environmental change in the medieval and early modern world. I am based in both the Radical Humanities Laboratory and the School of History.
Having earned a BA at UCC and an MA at University of Sheffield, I completed a PhD in 2016 at University of Galway funded by Irish Research Council and Hardiman scholarships. After that I held a National Endowment for the Humanities postdoctoral fellowship at University of Notre Dame, a postdoctoral fellowship in environmental humanities at Stockholm University, and an MSCA Individual Fellowship. In 2020, I was awarded a major Swedish Research Council Project Grant worth c.400,000 euro (co-investigators: Dr Benjamin Gearey, UCC; Dr Sigrún Dögg Eddudóttir, Uppsala University; other collaborators: Dr Kevin Kearney, AMS Ltd.; Petter Larsson, Helsinki University). I joined UCC in 2023 as Lecturer in Radical Humanities.
I have published widely in environmental history and landscape archaeology, including the award-winning book Transhumance and the Making of Ireland’s Uplands, 1550-1900.
I have taught and supervised both undergraduate and postgraduate students at Galway, Stockholm and Uppsala and, here at UCC, I am teaching late medieval and early modern history (see below).
I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students and postdocs in the following areas:
- environmental history
- climate history
- landscape archaeology and historical archaeology
- social and economic history in Europe
- Irish, Scottish and Scandinavian history
- rural studies, peasant studies
- agriculture, pastoralism and animal farming
- biocultural heritage and historical ecology
Is staraí agus seandálaí mé. Bí i dteagmháil liom má tá suim agaibh sna topaicí thuasluaite.
You can follow my updates on:
https://ucc-ie.academia.edu/EugeneCostello
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Eugene_Costello2
https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=r3YLZqMAAAAJ&hl=en
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1084-7585
https://twitter.com/booleying
Having earned a BA at UCC and an MA at University of Sheffield, I completed a PhD in 2016 at University of Galway funded by Irish Research Council and Hardiman scholarships. After that I held a National Endowment for the Humanities postdoctoral fellowship at University of Notre Dame, a postdoctoral fellowship in environmental humanities at Stockholm University, and an MSCA Individual Fellowship. In 2020, I was awarded a major Swedish Research Council Project Grant worth c.400,000 euro (co-investigators: Dr Benjamin Gearey, UCC; Dr Sigrún Dögg Eddudóttir, Uppsala University; other collaborators: Dr Kevin Kearney, AMS Ltd.; Petter Larsson, Helsinki University). I joined UCC in 2023 as Lecturer in Radical Humanities.
I have published widely in environmental history and landscape archaeology, including the award-winning book Transhumance and the Making of Ireland’s Uplands, 1550-1900.
I have taught and supervised both undergraduate and postgraduate students at Galway, Stockholm and Uppsala and, here at UCC, I am teaching late medieval and early modern history (see below).
I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students and postdocs in the following areas:
- environmental history
- climate history
- landscape archaeology and historical archaeology
- social and economic history in Europe
- Irish, Scottish and Scandinavian history
- rural studies, peasant studies
- agriculture, pastoralism and animal farming
- biocultural heritage and historical ecology
Is staraí agus seandálaí mé. Bí i dteagmháil liom má tá suim agaibh sna topaicí thuasluaite.
You can follow my updates on:
https://ucc-ie.academia.edu/EugeneCostello
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Eugene_Costello2
https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=r3YLZqMAAAAJ&hl=en
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1084-7585
https://twitter.com/booleying
Research Interests
Research grants and awards:
· Enterprise Ireland Research Support Grant 2024 (€16,000)
· European Society for Environmental History Article Prize 2023 – Honourable Mention
· European Association of Archaeologists Book Prize 2023 – Shortlisted
· SCAS Pro Futura Scientia Fellowship 2022 (SEK c.4,000,000 – declined for this position)
· Shortlisted for Irish Research Council Early Career Researcher of the Year Award 2021
· NUI Publication Prize in Irish History 2018-21 – Special Commendation (€1,000)
· American Conference for Irish Studies – Murphy Prize for Distinguished 1st Book 2020 ($500)
· Swedish Research Council Project in Humanities & Social Sciences, 2021 (SEK 4,360,000)
· Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship, 2021 (€191,852)
· NUI Postdoctoral Fellowship in Humanities, 2020 (€109,840, declined one year, i.e. €54,920)
· Teach@Tübingen Fellowship, 2021 (€29,236 – declined)
· Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology Research Grant (£812)
· Albert & Maria Bergström Foundation fieldwork scholarship 2019 (SEK 31,700)
· Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Humanities 2018-20, Stockholm Uni. (SEK 935,000)
· Landscape Archaeology Conference Bursary 2018 (£195)
· Ruralia 2017 Jean-Marie Pesez Conference Bursary (€500)
· National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship 2016-17 ($60,000)
· Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology Paul Courtney Student Travel Award 2016 (£45)
· Sieg and Dunlop Bursary Award 2016 – International Congress on Medieval Studies (€1,500)
· Irish Research Council New Foundations Award 2015 (€2,459)
· Irish Federation of University Teachers 50th Anniversary Award 2015 (€2,000)
· Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement Conference Bursary 2015 (€153)
· Society for Medieval Archaeology Conference Bursary 2014 (£50)
· NUI Galway Travel Bursary 2013/14 (€58)
· NUI Galway Travel Bursary 2012/13 (€256)
· NUI Galway Hardiman Doctoral Scholarship 2012-16 (€81,100 – of which I declined €60,825)
· Irish Research Council Doctoral Scholarship 2012-15 (€60,825)
· University of Sheffield Robert Kiln Bursary in Landscape Archaeology 2011/12 (£1,500)
· Undergraduate of Ireland Award 2011
· UCC College Scholar in Arts 2010/2011 (€1,000)
· UCC College Scholar in Arts 2009/2010 (€1,000)
· Colmcille Bursary for Irish learners of Scots Gaelic at Sabhal Mor Ostaig 2010 (£280)
· National University of Ireland Dr. H.H. Stewart Literary Scholarship Award in Irish 2009
Journal peer reviewing:
The Historical Journal // Norwegian Archaeological Review // Social History // Cambridge Archaeological Review // Medieval Settlement Research // Rural History // Folk Life // Rural Landscapes // Journal of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland // Post-Medieval Archaeology // Landscapes // Journal of Historical Geography // Proc of Society of Antiquaries of Scotland // Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports // Journal of Wetland Archaeology // ‘A Place for the Heathland?’ edited book
Grant peer reviewing:
National Science Foundation (USA) // European Research Council // Dutch Research Council (NWO) Vidi // Polish National Science Centre // Swiss National Science Foundation // Icelandic Research Fund // Czech Science Foundation // Austrian Academy of Sciences
· Enterprise Ireland Research Support Grant 2024 (€16,000)
· European Society for Environmental History Article Prize 2023 – Honourable Mention
· European Association of Archaeologists Book Prize 2023 – Shortlisted
· SCAS Pro Futura Scientia Fellowship 2022 (SEK c.4,000,000 – declined for this position)
· Shortlisted for Irish Research Council Early Career Researcher of the Year Award 2021
· NUI Publication Prize in Irish History 2018-21 – Special Commendation (€1,000)
· American Conference for Irish Studies – Murphy Prize for Distinguished 1st Book 2020 ($500)
· Swedish Research Council Project in Humanities & Social Sciences, 2021 (SEK 4,360,000)
· Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship, 2021 (€191,852)
· NUI Postdoctoral Fellowship in Humanities, 2020 (€109,840, declined one year, i.e. €54,920)
· Teach@Tübingen Fellowship, 2021 (€29,236 – declined)
· Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology Research Grant (£812)
· Albert & Maria Bergström Foundation fieldwork scholarship 2019 (SEK 31,700)
· Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Humanities 2018-20, Stockholm Uni. (SEK 935,000)
· Landscape Archaeology Conference Bursary 2018 (£195)
· Ruralia 2017 Jean-Marie Pesez Conference Bursary (€500)
· National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship 2016-17 ($60,000)
· Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology Paul Courtney Student Travel Award 2016 (£45)
· Sieg and Dunlop Bursary Award 2016 – International Congress on Medieval Studies (€1,500)
· Irish Research Council New Foundations Award 2015 (€2,459)
· Irish Federation of University Teachers 50th Anniversary Award 2015 (€2,000)
· Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement Conference Bursary 2015 (€153)
· Society for Medieval Archaeology Conference Bursary 2014 (£50)
· NUI Galway Travel Bursary 2013/14 (€58)
· NUI Galway Travel Bursary 2012/13 (€256)
· NUI Galway Hardiman Doctoral Scholarship 2012-16 (€81,100 – of which I declined €60,825)
· Irish Research Council Doctoral Scholarship 2012-15 (€60,825)
· University of Sheffield Robert Kiln Bursary in Landscape Archaeology 2011/12 (£1,500)
· Undergraduate of Ireland Award 2011
· UCC College Scholar in Arts 2010/2011 (€1,000)
· UCC College Scholar in Arts 2009/2010 (€1,000)
· Colmcille Bursary for Irish learners of Scots Gaelic at Sabhal Mor Ostaig 2010 (£280)
· National University of Ireland Dr. H.H. Stewart Literary Scholarship Award in Irish 2009
Journal peer reviewing:
The Historical Journal // Norwegian Archaeological Review // Social History // Cambridge Archaeological Review // Medieval Settlement Research // Rural History // Folk Life // Rural Landscapes // Journal of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland // Post-Medieval Archaeology // Landscapes // Journal of Historical Geography // Proc of Society of Antiquaries of Scotland // Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports // Journal of Wetland Archaeology // ‘A Place for the Heathland?’ edited book
Grant peer reviewing:
National Science Foundation (USA) // European Research Council // Dutch Research Council (NWO) Vidi // Polish National Science Centre // Swiss National Science Foundation // Icelandic Research Fund // Czech Science Foundation // Austrian Academy of Sciences
Books
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2020) | Transhumance and the Making of Ireland's Uplands, 1550-1900 (PAPERBACK 2024).
Eugene Costello (2020) Transhumance and the Making of Ireland's Uplands, 1550-1900 (PAPERBACK 2024). Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer. [ Publisher's Version] [DOI] [Details] |
Edited Books
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2018) | Historical Archaeologies of Transhumance across Europe (PAPERBACK 2020)
Eugene Costello, Eva Svensson (Ed.). (2018) Historical Archaeologies of Transhumance across Europe (PAPERBACK 2020) London: Routledge. [ Publisher's Version] [DOI] [Details] |
Peer Reviewed Journals
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2025) | 'Skills of the unskilled: working with livestock in medieval northern Europe'
Costello, Eugene (2025) 'Skills of the unskilled: working with livestock in medieval northern Europe'. Social History, 50 (2) [Details] |
|
| (2025) | 'Dating and interpreting landscapes of livestock herding: excavation of a hut site and enclosure in southwestern Ireland'
Costello, Eugene (2025) 'Dating and interpreting landscapes of livestock herding: excavation of a hut site and enclosure in southwestern Ireland'. Journal Of Field Archaeology, 50 [Details] |
|
| (2023) | 'Environmental histories of agriculture in early modern Britain and Ireland'
Elly Robson, Eugene Costello and John Morgan (2023) 'Environmental histories of agriculture in early modern Britain and Ireland'. Agricultural History Review, 71 (2):137-159 [Details] |
|
| (2023) | 'Adapting to the Little Ice Age in pastoral regions: An interdisciplinary approach to climate history in north-west Europe'
Eugene Costello and Kevin Kearney and Benjamin Gearey (2023) 'Adapting to the Little Ice Age in pastoral regions: An interdisciplinary approach to climate history in north-west Europe'. Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, 0 (0):1-20 [ Publisher's Version] [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2022) | 'Agriculture and the Integration of British Colonial Migrants in Early Modern Ireland'
Eugene Costello (2022) 'Agriculture and the Integration of British Colonial Migrants in Early Modern Ireland'. Journal of Migration History, 8 (2):291-312 [ Publisher's Version] [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2021) | 'The Colonisation of Uplands in Medieval Britain and Ireland: Climate, Agriculture and Environmental Adaptation'
Eugene Costello (2021) 'The Colonisation of Uplands in Medieval Britain and Ireland: Climate, Agriculture and Environmental Adaptation'. Medieval Archaeology, 65 (1) [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] |
|
| (2020) | 'Hill farmers, habitats and time: the potential of historical ecology in upland management and conservation'
Eugene Costello; (2020) 'Hill farmers, habitats and time: the potential of historical ecology in upland management and conservation'. Landscape Research, [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2018) | 'Temporary freedoms? Ethnoarchaeology of female herders at seasonal sites in northern Europe'
Eugene Costello; (2018) 'Temporary freedoms? Ethnoarchaeology of female herders at seasonal sites in northern Europe'. World Archaeology, [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2017) | 'Liminal learning: Social practice in seasonal settlements of western Ireland'
Eugene Costello; (2017) 'Liminal learning: Social practice in seasonal settlements of western Ireland'. Journal of Social Archaeology, [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2017) | 'Medieval memories and the reformation of religious identity: Catholic and Anglican interactions with parish church sites in County Limerick, Ireland'
Eugene Costello; (2017) 'Medieval memories and the reformation of religious identity: Catholic and Anglican interactions with parish church sites in County Limerick, Ireland'. Post-Medieval Archaeology, [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2016) | 'Feirmeoirí faoi Cheilt: Dul Chun Cinn agus Dúshláin sa Taighde faoi Ghnás an Bhuailteachais'
Costello, Eugene (2016) 'Feirmeoirí faoi Cheilt: Dul Chun Cinn agus Dúshláin sa Taighde faoi Ghnás an Bhuailteachais'. Béaloideas: The Journal of The Folklore of Ireland Society, [Details] |
|
| (2016) | 'Seasonal settlement and the interpretation of upland archaeology in the Galtee Mountains, Ireland'
Eugene Costello; (2016) 'Seasonal settlement and the interpretation of upland archaeology in the Galtee Mountains, Ireland'. Landscape History, [DOI] [Details] |
|
| (2015) | 'Post-medieval upland settlement and the decline of transhumance: a case-study from the Galtee Mountains, Ireland'
Eugene Costello; (2015) 'Post-medieval upland settlement and the decline of transhumance: a case-study from the Galtee Mountains, Ireland'. Landscape History, [DOI] [Details] |
Book Chapters
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2026) | 'Adaptation at altitude: using mountains to explore the long-term resilience of Irish settlement and farming'
Eugene Costello (2026) 'Adaptation at altitude: using mountains to explore the long-term resilience of Irish settlement and farming' In: Murphy, M., Tracey, R. & Lyttleton, J (eds). Past, Present & Future of Irish Settlement Studies. Dubllin: Four Courts Press. [Details] |
|
| (2026) | 'Transhumance'
Costello, Eugene (2026) 'Transhumance' In: Klemettilä, Hannele; McAlister, Victoria; Wilkin, Alexis (eds). Routledge Resources Online: Medieval Studies (Environment, Production, Exchange). London / New York: Routledge. [ Publisher's Version] [Details] |
|
| (2025) | 'Hill farming and change: learning from the past'
Costello, Eugene (2025) 'Hill farming and change: learning from the past' In: Wells, Grace; Taylor, Lucy (eds). Under Summer Pastures II. Ennistymon: Hometree. [Details] |
|
| (2021) | 'Imagining and identifying seasonal resource exploitation on the margins of medieval Ireland'
Eugene Costello (2021) 'Imagining and identifying seasonal resource exploitation on the margins of medieval Ireland' In: Seasonal Settlement in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside. Leiden: Sidestone Press. [ Publisher's Version] [Details] |
|
| (2018) | 'Transhumant pastoralism in historic landscapes'
Eugene Costello, Eva Svensson (2018) 'Transhumant pastoralism in historic landscapes' In: Historical Archaeologies of Transhumance across Europe. London: Routledge. [Details] |
|
| (2018) | 'Morphology of transhumant settlements in post-medieval South Connemara: A case study in adaptation'
Eugene Costello (2018) 'Morphology of transhumant settlements in post-medieval South Connemara: A case study in adaptation' In: Eugene Costello and Eva Svensson (eds). Historical Archaeologies of Transhumance across Europe. London: Routledge. [Details] |
|
| (2016) | 'Seasonal management of cattle in the booleying system: new insights from South Connemara, western Ireland'
Eugene Costello (2016) 'Seasonal management of cattle in the booleying system: new insights from South Connemara, western Ireland' In: Michael O'Connell, Fergus Kelly, James H. McAdam (eds). Cattle in Ancient and Modern Ireland: Farming Practices, Environment and Economy. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. [Details] |
Research Report
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2025) | Final excavation report, Curragh More 1 hut site, Co. Kerry. Report submitted to National Monuments Service, Ireland. 37 pp.
Eugene Costello and Caitríona Moore (2025) Final excavation report, Curragh More 1 hut site, Co. Kerry. Report submitted to National Monuments Service, Ireland. 37 pp. Research Report [Details] |
|
| (2022) | Final excavation report, Bridia 2 enclosure, Co. Kerry. Report submitted to National Monuments Service, Ireland. 15 pp.
Eugene Costello & Caitríona Moore (2022) Final excavation report, Bridia 2 enclosure, Co. Kerry. Report submitted to National Monuments Service, Ireland. 15 pp. Research Report [Details] |
|
| (2022) | Final excavation report, Bridia 1 hut site, Co. Kerry. Report submitted to National Monuments Service, Ireland. 34 pp.
Eugene Costello & Caitríona Moore (2022) Final excavation report, Bridia 1 hut site, Co. Kerry. Report submitted to National Monuments Service, Ireland. 34 pp. Research Report [Details] |
|
| (2019) | Grousemount Wind Farm, Kilgarvan, County Kerry: Final Archaeological and Cultural Heritage Report. 205 pp. John Cronin & Associates Ltd., for ESB Wind Energy.
David Murphy & Eugene Costello (2019) Grousemount Wind Farm, Kilgarvan, County Kerry: Final Archaeological and Cultural Heritage Report. 205 pp. John Cronin & Associates Ltd., for ESB Wind Energy. Research Report [Details] |
Book Reviews
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2025) | Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo, Josu Nabarte Hernández (eds.) 2023. People and Agrarian Landscapes: An Archaeology of Postclassical Local Societies in the Western Mediterranean. Summertown: Archaeopress, in Medieval Archaeology 69.
Costello, Eugene (2025) Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo, Josu Nabarte Hernández (eds.) 2023. People and Agrarian Landscapes: An Archaeology of Postclassical Local Societies in the Western Mediterranean. Summertown: Archaeopress, in Medieval Archaeology 69. Book Reviews [Details] |
|
| (2024) | Oram, R. (ed.) 2023. ‘With our backs to the ocean’: Land, Lordship, Climate Change, and Environment in the North-West European past, essays in memory of Alasdair Ross. Turnhout: Brepols, in Peritia: Journal of the Medieval Academy of Ireland 35.
Costello, Eugene (2024) Oram, R. (ed.) 2023. ‘With our backs to the ocean’: Land, Lordship, Climate Change, and Environment in the North-West European past, essays in memory of Alasdair Ross. Turnhout: Brepols, in Peritia: Journal of the Medieval Academy of Ireland 35. Book Reviews [Details] |
|
| (2023) | Roebuck, P. 2022. Cattle Droving: Scotland and Ireland through Cumbria to the South. Carlisle: Bookcase, in Agricultural History Review 71(2).
Costello, Eugene (2023) Roebuck, P. 2022. Cattle Droving: Scotland and Ireland through Cumbria to the South. Carlisle: Bookcase, in Agricultural History Review 71(2). Book Reviews [Details] |
|
| (2015) | Rundale: settlement, society, and farming, in Journal of Irish Archaeology 24.
Costello, Eugene (2015) Rundale: settlement, society, and farming, in Journal of Irish Archaeology 24. Book Reviews [Details] |
Online Multimedia
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2021) | The lost art of 'booleying' in Ireland. RTÉ Brainstorm article and podcast.
Eugene Costello (2021) The lost art of 'booleying' in Ireland. RTÉ Brainstorm article and podcast. Online Multimedia [ Publisher's Version] [Details] |
Other Journals
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2012) | 'Beithígh ar buaile: Transhumance in 19th and 20th century Ireland'
Eugene Costello (2012) 'Beithígh ar buaile: Transhumance in 19th and 20th century Ireland' Trowel (Ucd Postgraduate Journal), . [Details] |
|
| (2011) | 'Blossom Gate: A late medieval gatehouse'
Eugene Costello (2011) 'Blossom Gate: A late medieval gatehouse' Kilmallock Historical Journal, . [Details] |
Teaching Interests
Current teaching responsibilities:
Currently I teach a 5 ECTS case study for second-year history students called, Ireland in a New World: Climate Change and Capitalism, 1250-1750. This is one version of the 'omnibus' module, HI2105, which all second years in history have to take. I also teach a 5 ECTS module for first years called, HI1015: The Craft of History, using Ireland in the early modern period as a case study. This is an 'omnibus' module for all first years in history, with other members of staff teaching other versions of the module.
Previously I co-designed and co-led the second-year core module, HI2108: Ireland, Europe and the Wider World I (with Dr David Edwards). This covered the crucial period from just before the Black Death up to the Enlightenment, with an emphasis on socio-economic change, colonialism and the process of globalisation.
Prior to joining UCC as Lecturer in Radical Humanities, I taught and supervised students in history and archaeology at Stockholm University, Uppsala University and University of Galway.
Currently I teach a 5 ECTS case study for second-year history students called, Ireland in a New World: Climate Change and Capitalism, 1250-1750. This is one version of the 'omnibus' module, HI2105, which all second years in history have to take. I also teach a 5 ECTS module for first years called, HI1015: The Craft of History, using Ireland in the early modern period as a case study. This is an 'omnibus' module for all first years in history, with other members of staff teaching other versions of the module.
Previously I co-designed and co-led the second-year core module, HI2108: Ireland, Europe and the Wider World I (with Dr David Edwards). This covered the crucial period from just before the Black Death up to the Enlightenment, with an emphasis on socio-economic change, colonialism and the process of globalisation.
Prior to joining UCC as Lecturer in Radical Humanities, I taught and supervised students in history and archaeology at Stockholm University, Uppsala University and University of Galway.