Dónal Walsh
walshd20@tcd.ie
Biography
I am from Waterford and completed my BA in Irish and History at University College Cork in 2010. After working for a year with IFES Ireland in Cork, I began the MPhil in Early Modern History in 2011.
Research
‘The use of Old Testament Israel in narratives of Irish Protestant identity, 1590-1641’
My research explores how Protestants in Ireland related their own experiences with those of Old Testament Israel. I will explore how the motif of Biblical Israel was used to offer Protestant Ireland a clear sense of identity and common purpose. I will test the extent of use of the motif of Israel by clerical elites as well as its reception among Protestant congregations. I will use a wide range of sources including printed sermons, letters, imagery, architecture and grave monuments to identify links made by Ireland’s Protestants with the Israelites of the Old Testament. I also have wider interests in Reformation history and the history of tolerance, as well as a particular interest in the career of James Ussher.