Summary of the impact

Multiple, reinforcing impacts where Kelly and Ó Ciardha's research has been repeatedly utilised to develop the cultural presentation of Derry legacies in museums and events. Public policy impact exist in the authors' roles as historical advisors to Donegal County Council's €1m commemoration of the Flight of the Earls (1607-2007) and Derry City Council's winning of UK City of Culture (2013), which utilised the Ulster Plantation as an historical base. Their research changed professional practice among museum officials and teachers, and enhanced popular historical knowledge through outreach and media. It impacted creative practice via programme content and the economy via tourism.

Summary of the impact

In 2011-12, Campbell engaged in a range of media activities and public talks to enable the effective sharing of his research on second-generation Irish musicians in England. These activities disseminated new insights to the public, increasing understanding of the experience and expressive cultures of England's Irish, and informing public debates on this topic. The activities comprised three strands:

i. Articles and interviews in the UK and Irish media generating public responses and awards;

ii. Public talks increasing public understanding and generating public responses;

iii. Series Advisor role on TV documentary series generating public responses and informing public debates.

Impact is evidenced through reach of dissemination, as well as audience comments, letters, online posts, blogs, social media, and awards.

Summary of the impact

The peace process in Northern Ireland and recent Anglo-Irish rapprochement has spurred fresh interest in new approaches to Irish history that venture beyond the traditional confines of nationalism. In a series of books, public lectures, essays and broadcasts over the last 20 years, Roy Foster has offered a distinctive perspective on the development of Irish history and identity, rejecting the idea of the uniqueness of Irish nationalism and showing how Irish and British culture and history have developed in dialogue with each other. Challenging inherited perceptions of Anglo-Irish exchanges, he has enhanced the quality of media representations and public discussion of Irish history, and improved public understanding of our shared past (and future).

Summary of the impact

Unit members Hope historians have enhanced public understanding of modern Irish cultural and political history. Principally, this was achieved through the extensive media exposure of biographical monographs published by Bryce Evans and Sonja Tiernan. Tiernan and Evans gained thorough research exposure through several prominent arteries of the national broadcast and print media in the Republic of Ireland and Britain. Collectively, this impacted awareness of Irish women's labour, political and economic history, both regionally and nationally. Research was cited in current affairs discussion, public discussion, and media reviews by journalists and commentators. Research provoked public comment through national radio phone-ins, blog coverage, and reviews. Research also impacted amongst `hard to reach' groups, particularly women and the gay community. Moreover, the press coverage of works by Kelly and O'allaghan significantly impacted on the policy-making and culture-informed public in Ireland, as discussed below.

Summary of the impact

Research produced at Northumbria on migration to and from Britain in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has enriched the presentation and understanding of cultural heritage and public discourse in the North East of England and in South Carolina. It has contributed to the creation of:

1) a permanent exhibit at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle

2) a series on Englishness at the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle

3) an exhibition in Charleston, South Carolina that will become the first permanent digital exhibition in the Lowcountry Digital Archive

This research has shaped the cultural sector's historical understanding of the role played by migration on English and Irish identity and resulted in more durable collaborations between history at Northumbria and public history practitioners.

Summary of the impact

James Loughlin's peer-reviewed research on the British monarchy's role in Ireland formed the essential basis for Irish state broadcaster's, RTÉ's, account of Elizabeth II's historic visit to the Irish Republic in 2011. He was advisor to the programme-makers from inception and his work formed the spine of the resulting documentary, `The Queen and Us'. Loughlin's research fundamentally shaped how the programmers presented knowledge of the monarchy's standing in Ireland, both historically and contemporaneously, and influenced strongly their creative practice. Audience levels reached 400,000+, including the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh themselves. The work spread worldwide via the RTÉ player.

Summary of the impact

The research contributed to the public information campaign which was conducted as part of the referendum campaigns on the Treaty of Lisbon in Ireland, as well as more generally impacting on how referendums are run; this includes up to the Fiscal Stability Treaty referendum on 30 May 2013. It forms part of the authors' overall research on the impact of Europeanisation on the governance of Irish institutions and public policy processes which has been ongoing since 1997 and has impact on public understanding, political institutions and socialisation agents (parties and interest groups).

Summary of the impact

Research carried out within the Irish and Celtic Studies Research Institute has had a direct impact upon government policy in Northern Ireland and has led to major benefits for the community. Our research into language rights, language and identity, the Irish language in Northern Ireland and minority languages in general has underpinned our collaboration with government in the development of language policy. This collaboration has resulted in our participation in a thorough examination of education through the medium of Irish: Review of Irish-Medium Education (RIME) and our development of a comprehensive languages strategy for Northern Ireland: Languages for the Future: Northern Ireland Languages Strategy (NILS). The implementation by government of the recommendations contained in these reports has impacted significantly on the community. Major impact will be demonstrated in the area of education, in particular Irish-Medium education (IME), but also in relation to the business sector and social cohesion.

Summary of the impact

Dickens scholarship, and has impacted upon culture and leisure services; schools, colleges and lifelong learning; charities; community organisations; and the media. The delivery mechanism was a year-long festival, known as Dickens 2012 NI (Registered charity no. XT33252), which attracted thirty thousand of people of all ages. It organised events covering literature, theatre, music, the visual arts, museums, and education. The project achieved the following impacts:

• an increased level of understanding among all participants of Dickens's multiple literary and personal connections with Ireland
• the provision of professional expertise on Dickens and Ireland, drawn upon frequently by the arts sector and the media, which allowed them to provide informed, authoritative pronouncements on this subject, particularly during the Dickens bicentenary year
• the conception and delivery of public exhibitions with demonstrable benefit for culture and leisure services, through enhanced access to events which had a positive effect on well-being
• the provision of work-placement opportunities in arts management for Queen's postgraduate students, thus enhancing their employment prospects
• a set of formal links with the young people's charity Barnardo's, particularly for delivering outreach work on literacy, which excited young people in disadvantaged areas about reading, and enhanced their engagement with the arts in a suitable accessible form

Summary of the impact

This case study demonstrates the social, economic and cultural impact of research carried out by members of the Irish and Celtic Studies Research Institute into the history of the Irish language in Belfast in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

This research has revealed the extent of Irish language activity in Belfast in the 19^th century, focussing on the one hand on Gaelic revivalism and antiquarianism and on the other on the history of an Irish-speaking community who migrated to this urban area from Omeath, Co. Louth. Our research into the Irish language in an urbanised and industrialised setting has been adopted and utilised by the Irish speaking community in Belfast, by Irish language organisations, by the media and by the tourist industry.

This case study demonstrates how our research has impacted on the wider community, in particular by tracing its dissemination in the key areas of broadcasting, cultural heritage and tourism initiatives. As an indication of the reach and significance of this impact, it is shown inter alia that a television documentary describing the findings of our research achieved very significant viewing figures (over 100,000 on its first showing); a permanent exhibition illustrating the history of native Irish speakers in Belfast has become a major tourist attraction in an economically disadvantaged area of Belfast; a cross-community cultural heritage project on this urban gaeltacht was funded by Belfast City Council and a specially commissioned drama was produced by Aisling Ghéar Theatre. Furthermore, a transportable exhibition on the Irish language in Belfast formed part of the centenary celebrations of Belfast City Hall and went on tour to the United States as part of an investment drive by the West Belfast Economic Forum.