About

Dr Ciara Meehan BA, PhD, SFHEA

Having completed her BA (2003) and PhD in history (2007) at UCD, Ciara worked there for six years before relocating to the University of Hertfordshire in 2013. Since then she has been promoted to the position of Reader (the British equivalent of Associate Professor) in History. She has also served as Head of History and is currently Associate Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Education. 

She has published extensively on the transformation of independent Ireland. Her major works include The Cosgrave Party: a History of Cumann na nGaedheal, 1923-1933 (2010), A Just Society for Ireland? 1964-1987 (2013) and Saving the State: Fine Gael from Collins to Varadkar (2020), which she co-wrote with political journalist Stephen Collins. Most recently she authored, A Woman’s Place? Challenging Values in 1960s Irish Women’s Magazines (2023).

She has two particular strands of research interest. She is fascinated by the history of the Cumann na nGaedheal / Fine Gael party, and she is also intrigued by the gendered experience of everyday life in independent Ireland.

Her work has received considerable external recognition, and she has been funded by the Irish Research Council, the AHRC, and other bodies. Her research has also attracted significant media interest, and she appears fairly regularly in Irish print and broadcast media.

Her commitment to excellence in learning and teaching was acknowledged in her successful application to become a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2014, and in her advancement to Senior Fellow in 2018. The latter recognises effective and significant impact on students in a sphere of influence wider than her own classroom.   

Get in touch via email: c.meehan2@herts.ac.uk

Postal Address: Dr Ciara Meehan, School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Education, University of Hertfordshire, AL10 9AB, Britain.

Pronouns: she/her