Associate Professor in Early Modern Scot
History A64 Pathfoot Division of History and Politics University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA
I grew up on the edges of the Atlantic, in Derry City, but decided to look out over a different body of water while continuing with my education. I made my way, via two years in Dublin, to Aberdeen where I graduated with a BA (Hons) in History in 1996 and a PhD in History in 2001. After working for three years at the University of St Andrews I felt the average rainfall level in the east was not substantial enough so I moved back west to join the University of Strathclyde in 2005. In 2019 I was fortunate enough to be appointed to the University of Stirling where I can contemplate both water and hills.
My interests increasingly lie in those communities that live at the intersect of land and sea, communities and areas often regarded as 'peripheral' to mainstream political, social and economic development. Having recently completed a monograph on processes of plantation by land and sea around the North Channel region, my attention is now focused on island communities within the archipelago and the interplay between local, regional, national and supra-national while also exploring customary legal practices on land and sea.
Learning and Teaching Officer for History, Heritage and Politics
Learning and Teaching Officer for History, Heritage and Politics
conference paper
University of St Andrews
invited to present research at the 'Flodden Gap' conference held at University of St Andrews on 1 September 2021.
Seminar presentation
23 February 2021: invited to speak at University of Aberdeen joint RIIS and EMSC seminar.
Seminar presentation
26 November 2020: invited to speak at University of St Andrews Scottish History seminar series
Seminar presentation
27 February 2020: invited to speak at to Ayrshire Archaeological and Natural History Society
Seminar presentation
13 October 2018: invited to present at ‘Re-thinking the Renaissance and Reformation in Scotland: A Conference in Honour of Roger A. Mason’, Parliament Hall, University of St Andrews.
Seminar presentation
9 July 2018: presented a lecture on ‘The Statutes of Iona’ at St Giles Cathedral as part of their Exploring Gaelic lecture series.
Seminar presentation
20 November 2018: invited to speak to Bute Museum and Natural History Society, Rothesay, Bute.
Conference organisation and presentation
14&15 June 2018: co-organised and hosted the conference ‘Scotland and the Wider World’ celebrating the career and historical contribution of Professor Allan I. Macinnes. At this conference I also presented my own research ‘Island empire? James VI & I and the Isle of Man in an archipelagic context’. These conference contributions will be published as an edited volume in 2021-22.
Conference presentation
20-21 October 2017: ‘Living on the edge: a Highland Scot community in Ireland’, presented an invited plenary paper presented at a two-day symposium on ‘The Communities and Margins of Early Modern Scotland’; a conference organised by postgraduate students from a number of Scottish universities.
Seminar presentation
28 February 2017: presented a version of ‘James VI and I and the ‘dark corners’ of his realm’ to Celtic and Scottish Studies seminar series, University of Glasgow.
Event
31 October 2017: chair and interviewer for the early modern History panel as part of the Historical Conversation series, organised and hosted by University of Glasgow’; the early modern panel (and my interviewees) were Professor Keith M. Brown, University of Manchester, and Roger A. Mason, University of St Andrews.
Seminar presentation
11 October 2017: ‘Living on the edge? Early modern maritime communities of the Atlantic archipelago’, a paper presented to the School of Humanities research seminar autumn series, University of Strathclyde.
Symposium participant
26&27 September 2017: a participant speaking on ‘the state’ at ‘Tyrannous Constructs or the Tools of the Trade?: the use and abuse of concepts in Medieval History’, Cohen Quad, Exeter College, Oxford, a follow-up to the symposium held in Dublin in 2016.
Conference paper
14&15 April 2016: presented a plenary lecture at the first International Postgraduate Port and Maritime History Conference, at the University of Strathclyde.
Symposium participant
30&31 May 2016: a participant at ‘Tyrannous Constructs’, a symposium held at Trinity College Dublin hosted by Drs Peter Crooks (TCD) and Jackson Armstrong (University of Aberdeen).
Conference organisation
3-5 September 2015: co-hosted with Professor Michael Brown (University of St Andrews) a three-day conference ‘Lords and Lordship hip in the British Isles c.1300 – c.1600’. This brought together academics from across UK and Ireland.
Seminar presentation
24 May 2014: presented my research at an interdisciplinary workshop, hosted by the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh on ‘Identity, Independence and Interdependence’.
Seminar presentation
20 March 2014: presented my research to the Scottish History seminar series, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh.
Conference paper
4 June 2014: presented my research at the Donegal Diaspora conference held at Letterkenny hosted by Donegal County Council.
Examiner
External and internal examiner for a number of MRes and PhD thesis at various institutions including Universities of Glasgow, Strathclyde and Stirling.
External Examiner
External Examiner for undergraduate and postgraduate taught level in the School of Divinity, History and Philosophy (for History), University of Aberdeen (1 October 2017 to 30 September 2021)
External Examiner
External Examiner for medieval and early modern History, History and Politics division, University of Stirling (while employed at University of Strathclyde)
External Examiner
External Examiner for BA (Hons) Scottish History, North Highland College, Dornoch, University of the Highlands and Islands Millennium Institute
External Examiner
External Examiner for Medieval and Early Modern Scotland, c.1100-1707 (Distance Learning/OU History), University of Dundee
Member of the Committee for British Academy's Records of Social and Economic History series
Member of the Committee for British Academy's Records of Social and Economic History series
Membership of Editorial Board for Journal of the North Atlantic
Membership of Editorial Board for Journal of the North Atlantic
Member of Advisory Board for Routledge Encyclopedia of the Renaissance World
Member of Advisory Board for Routledge Encyclopedia of the Renaissance World
Economic and Social History Pathway Rep for Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences
Economic and Social History Pathway Rep for Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences (and was ECSH Pathway Rep for a number of years during my previous employment at University of Strathclyde).
Fellowship
Short-term fellowship (one month), Huntington Library, San Marino, California
Fellowship
Ernestine Richter Avery Fellow (short-term: one month), Huntington Library, San Marino, California
Fellowship
National Maritime Museum Caird Short-term Research Fellowship (two months)
Fellow, Royal Historical Society
Fellow, Royal Historical Society
Fellow, Higher Education Academy
Fellow, Higher Education Academy
