Grants and Prizes

The WHAI offers two important Prizes in the field of Irishwomen's / gender history

1. The MacCurtain/Cullen Prize in Irishwomen’s History is offered by the Women’s History Association of Ireland (www.whai.ie) in recognition of the outstanding contribution to Irishwomen’s history by Margaret MacCurtain and Mary Cullen. 

The award is open to any MA/M.Phil scholar in any university on the island of Ireland who is working in the area of Irishwomen’s history.  Submissions can deal with any chronological period, any historical subject relating to women, any geographical location within Ireland and can be in English or Irish. Articles should demonstrate originality of research, skilful use of analysis, and recognition of the important role of gender in the historical process.

The deadline for application for the 2012 Prize is Monday, March 12th, 2012. Late entries will not be considered. Entries will be adjudicated by a special committee of the WHAI and the prize will be awarded at the WHAI annual conference. The winning entry will recieve a bursary of €150 and will be published online at www.whai.ie.   

2. The Anna Parnell Travel grant was established in 2011 to promote research among early stage scholars in Irishwomen’s and Gender History.
Anna Parnell was the fifth of eleven children born to John Henry Parnell, an Irish Protestant landowner, and Delia Tudor Stewart Parnell. Michael Davitt’s proposal to establish an Irish Ladies’ Land League led him to propose Anna as its organiser as he had previously worked alongside Anna Parnell in New York and recognised her administrative ability. Anna Parnell’s life provides a vivid illustration of the immense difficulties faced by intelligent and energetic women in the nineteenth to find a role and have their voices heard.  See below an article on the life and activism of Anna Parnell by WHAI Committee member Dr Carla King.  

The travel grant is named in her honour to reflect her vigorous campaigning which saw her travel widely and her intellectual and political contributions which were largely ignored in her lifetime.  One travel grant will be awarded per year.

The successful applicant must provide a 500 word account of their use of the travel grant to appear on the WHAI website within three months of the completion of travel. The cheque reimbursing the remainder of the expenses will not be issued until this report has been received. Preference will be given to applicants without access to institutional support for research related travel.  The competition for the award will be judged by a select panel of the WHAI Executive Committee. 

The deadline for application is 30th December 2011 with an announcement of the winner on 31st January 2012. Please email a copy of the application form (see attached form below) in either a Word or PDF format to Dr. Sonja Tiernan, the Secretary of the Women’s History Association of Ireland at womenshistoryassociation@gmail.com