Professor Roibeard O Maolalaigh
- Professor of Gaelic (Celtic & Gaelic)
telephone:
01413306327
email:
Roibeard.OMaolalaigh@glasgow.ac.uk
R302 Level 3, College of Arts, 3 University Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QH
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1154-134XResearch interests
My main research interests lie in the broad area of Gaelic languages and linguistics, variation and history although I supervise and publish in a broad range of areas, which include:
- Linguistic variation and change in the Gaelic-speaking world (synchronic and diachronic)
- Phonetics, phonology, morphology, lexicology, semantics, sociolinguistics, corpus linguistics, corpus planning
- Gaelic dialectology: Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Manx
- Gaelic historical linguistics: historical phonology and morphology; the divergence between Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx
- The emergence and development of Scottish Gaelic
- The earliest sources for Scottish Gaelic
- Comparative reconstruction of earlier forms of Scottish Gaelic
- Gaelic onomastics: personal names and place-names
- Linguistic contact and borrowing between Gaelic and other languages
- The transmission of Gaelic in non-Gaelic historical sources
- The editing of Gaelic texts of relevance to the linguistic history of Gaelic Scotland, including early to modern Scottish Gaelic texts, grammars, vocabularies
- The eighteenth century, particularly the Rev. James McLagan (1728–1805) and his manuscript collections
- Digital Humanities and the creation of freely accessible online resources for Gaelic, e.g. Dachaigh airson Stòras na Gàidhlig / Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic (DASG), Sgeul na Gàidhlig / The Gaelic Story at the University of Glasgow, Bibliography of Irish Linguistics and Literature
Project Work
Recent and current project work includes:
Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic (DASG) (2006–)
DASG is a British Academy recognised project. Its main aims are:
(a) to facilitate and stimulate new research in Gaelic-related studies in a variety of disciplines by providing access to online language resources
(b) to preserve and enhance the archive generated by the Historical Dictionary of Scottish Gaelic project (1966–96) by digitising it and making it publicly available on the internet
(c) to contribute to the inter-university project Faclair na Gàidhlig;
The DASG website was launched in 2014 and currently has 3 main components (described further below):
- Corpas na Gàidhlig / The Corpus of Scottish Gaelic
- Faclan bhon t-Sluagh / Fieldwork Archive
- Cluas ri Claisneachd / Audio Archive
Funders of the DASG project have included the British Academy, the University of Glasgow, Comunn na Gàidhlig, Urras Brosnachaidh na Gàidhlig, the R. L. Thomson Endowment and the AHRC, the ESRC, Bòrd na Gàidhlig and the Scottish Funding Council via Faclair na Gàidhlig.
DASG has employed over 20 Gaelic graduates and students.
Corpas na Gàidlig / The Corpus of Scottish Gaelic (2008–)
Part of DASG, the aims of the Corpas na Gàidhlig project are:
(a) to create a comprehensive electronic corpus of Scottish Gaelic texts for students and researchers of Scottish Gaelic language, literature and culture;
(b) to provide the textual basis for the interuniversity project Faclair na Gàidhlig upon which the future historical dictionary will be based.
Faclan bhon t-Sluagh / Fieldwork Archive (2006–)
Part of DASG, the Fieldwork Archive consists of a collection of vernacular materials (questionnaires, wordlists and sound recordings) collected throughout Gaelic Scotland and in Nova Scotia between the 1960s and 1980s as part of data collection for the Historical Dictionary of Scottish Gaelic (HDSG) project, which was based at the University of Glasgow's Department of Celtic between 1966 and 1997.
Cluas ri Claisneachd / Audio Archive (2015–)
Part of DASG, the Cluas ri Claisneachd project aims to provide an audio archival resource for Gaelic with searchable transcriptions.
Comasan Labhairt ann an Gàidhlig (CLAG) / Gaelic Adult Proficiency (2014–19)
Based on empirical data and related to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), CLAG created proficiency scales for Gaelic adult learners. [web address to be added at a later date]. Led by myself and Dr Nicola Carty. Funded by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, the Scottish Funding Council and the University of Glasgow.
Leasachadh Corpais na Gàidhlig (LEACAG) / Gaelic Corpus Development (2015–18)
A collaborative Soillse project led by the University of Glasgow (Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh, Mark McConville, Susan Ross) in partnership with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, UHI (Dòmhnall Uilleam Stiubhart, Richard Cox) and the University of Edinburgh (Wilson McLeod, William Lamb, Charles Wilson).
LEACAG, in consultation with Gaelic language professionals and the community of traditional Gaelic speakers, provided detailed guidance on 11 of the most challenging topics in Gaelic grammar as identified by a survey of Gaelic language professionals and teachers, and an online hub for finding and distributing Gaelic terminology
Sgeul na Gàidhlig / The Gaelic Story at the University of Glasgow (2013–15)
Funded by the University’s Chancellor’s Fund and Soillse, this has to be one of the most rewarding projects I have ever been involved with. With my colleagues, Dr Katherine Forsyth and Dr Aonghas MacCoinnich (main researcher), we explored the history of Gaelic and Gaels at the University of Glasgow. Although Gaelic was not formally taught at the University as a subject which contributed to an MA degree until session 1906–1907, this project shows that Gaels have been present at the University since its foundation in 1451 both as students and as members of staff, and that they made extraordinary contributions to Scottish life and to the world more generally.
Dlùth is Inneach: Linguistic and Institutional Foundations for Gaelic Corpus Planning (2012–14)
Funded by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, this involved an inter-university team of researchers from the University of Glasgow (Dr Mark McConville, Dr Susan Ross and myself) and the University of Edinburgh (Dr Wilson McLeod). The commissioned report, Dlùth is Inneach: Linguistic and Institutional Foundations for Gaelic Corpus Planning, was approved by Bòrd na Gàidhlig as providing the policy roadmap for future corpus planning for Gaelic in Scotland. It is based on a new tripartite framework which has representation from (a) community-recognised Model / ‘Traditional’ Gaelic Speakers, (b) language scientists and (c) language status.
The Power of Numbers: Variation and Sound Change in Gaelic (2011–12)
Funded by the a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship, this research resulted in the first detailed quantitative analysis of phonological variation in Scottish Gaelic dialects based on the 207 points included in the Survey of Gaelic Dialects of Scotland (SGDS). It sheds new light on the historical development of Gaelic in Scotland and identifies a number of previously unidentified hyperdialectisms in Scottish Gaelic.
Gaelic Corpus Technology (2009)
Funded by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, A Survey of Gaelic Corpus Technology (2009), provides a survey of developments to date and recommendations for the future development of Gaelic corpus technology
SOILLSE: A Research Capacity to Support the Maintenance and Revitalisation of Gaelic Language and Culture (2010–)
Collaborative project, led by the University of the Highlands and Islands (Professor Conchúr Ó Giollagáin) in partnership with the Universities of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. This interuniversity initiative, the first of its kind for Gaelic, sought to establish a national network for Gaelic sociolinguistic research with relevance to public policy for the Gaelic language and culture.
The initiative represents the largest ever investment in Gaelic-related research by the universities, matched by the Scottish Funding Council, Bòrd na Gàidhlig and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. University of Glasgow Soillse staff included Dr Mark McConville as Research Fellow, and Nicola Carty Gordon Mackenzie as postgraduate researchers.
The Paradox of Medieval Scotland 1093–1286: Social Identities and Identities before the Wars of Independence (PoMS) (2007–10)
CoI with PI Professor Dauvit Broun. My main role in this project was to provide a study of the Gaelic names in 11th, 12th and 13th-century charters, including the orthographic transmission of the Gaelic names as a means of better understanding historical developments within the Gaelic language in Scotland in the medieval period, and also to gain better insights into Gaelic literacy and the processes of Anglicisation and Normanisation of Gaelic forms during this period. See my chapter ‘Gaelic personal names and name elements in Scottish charters 1093–1286’, in Hammond, M. (ed.) Personal Names and Naming Practices in Medieval Scotland (2019).
A Selection of Recent Conference Papers and Lectures
- June 2019, ‘Muiris Ó Gormáin Manuscripts in Scotland’ [invited lecture], Eighteenth-century Manuscript Culture in the Wider Gaelic World: The Manuscripts of Rev. James McLagan (1728–1805) in Context, Royal Irish Academy, Dublin
- May 2019, ‘Gàidhlig Gall-Ghaidhealaibh: The Gaelic of Galloway reconstructed’ [invited lecture], Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival
- March 2018, ‘The Rev. James McLagan, the Perth Literary and Antiquarian Society and an Irish Gaelic Manuscript in Perth’, Friends of Perth & Kinross Archive, A. K. Bell Library, Perth, 22 March 2018
- November 2018, ‘The Rev. James McLagan: New Light on his Connections and his ‘Darling Diversions’ (1751–1812)’ [invited lecture], Annual Angus Matheson Lecture, University of Glasgow
- September 2018, ‘The Gaelic of Galloway [invited lecture]’, Galloway Gaelic Conference, Catstrand, New Galloway
- August 2018, ‘”Risk-free” corpus planning for Scottish Gaelic? Collaborative development of basic grammatical norms for 21st century speakers’ [invited plenary lecture with Mark McConville], ‘Linguistic Migrations’, 12th Triennial Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster, University of Glasgow
- August 2018, ‘An t-Ollamh Dòmhnall MacAmhlaidh / Professor Donald MacAulay: An Appreciation’, Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig 10, University of Edinburgh
- August 2018, ‘Cè (‘give me, hand me’) and the survival of an old dialectal feature in Scottish Gaelic’, Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig 10, University of Edinburgh
- June 2016, ‘Caochlaideachd Chumanta sa Ghàidhlig: Fuasglaidhean Ùra’ [invited plenary lecture], Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig 9, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
- July 2015, ‘Conservative Features in Scottish Gaelic: The Conjunctions mura, gar an, mus & mun’, 15th International Congress of Celtic Studies, University of Glasgow
- May 2015, ‘DASG, Faclair na Gàidhlig and their Relevance to the Study of Medieval Gaelic’, Irish Conference of Medievalists, University College Dublin
- October, 2014, ‘Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte (1813–1891) and his Gaelic Interests’ [Expanded lecture], Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies, University of Glasgow
- June 2014, ‘Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte (1813–1891) and his Gaelic Interests’, Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig, University of Edinburgh
- June 2014, ‘Glottal features in Gaelic languages’, The 8th Celtic Linguistics Conference, University of Edinburgh [invited plenary lecture]
- March 2014, ‘Gaelic Names and Elements in Scottish Charters 1093–1286’, Personal Names and Naming Practices in Medieval Scotland, Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland
- April 2013, ‘Léargas stairiúil ó mhalartaíocht shioncrónach i nGaeilge na hAlban: tha fios agam ~ tha fhios agam’, University College Dublin, April 2013
- August 2012, ‘Cumhachd Àireamhan: Modhan Àireamhail a Bheir Dhuinn Tuigse air Dualchainntean na Gàidhlig’, Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig 7, University of Glasgow [Quantitative methods in analysing linguistic variation in Scottish Gaelic.]
- July 2012, ‘Faclair na Gàidhlig and Corpas na Gàidhlig: New Approaches Make Sense’, Triennial conference of the Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster, University of Aberdeen
- October 2011, ‘New Light on Old Problems and the Value of Corpus Linguistics: The Case of a h-uile “every” and tha f(h)ios agam “I know”’, Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies, University of Glasgow
- August 2011, ‘Irish gach uile and Scottish Gaelic a h-uile Revisited’, 14th International Celtic Congress of Celtic Studies, NUI Maynooth
- March 2011, ‘Structural, Geographical and Social Aspects of Sound Change in Gaelic’, Gaelic Language and Linguistics Seminar Series, Celtic and Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh.
- March 2011, ‘Structural, Geographical and Social Aspects of Sound Change in Gaelic’, Gaelic Language and Linguistics Seminar Series, Celtic and Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh.
- August 2010, with Fiona Dunn, ‘Oifigear na Gàidhlig ann an Oilthigh Ghlaschu: Amasan, Adhartas agus Cothroman Ùra’, Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig 6, University of Aberdeen.
- July 2010, ‘Gaelic Names in the PoMS Database: A Preliminary Classification’, New Perspectives on Scotland before the Wars of Independence, University of Glasgow.
- June 2010, ‘Celtic Studies in Scotland: Key Developments’, University of Ulster, Derry.
- February 2010, ‘Scottish Gaelic Language Studies: Past and Current Work’, University of Aberystwyth.
Grants
Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic (DASG)
Funders:
British Academy (2007–19): £60,000
Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Comunn na Gàidhlig, Urras Brosnachaidh na Gàidhlig: £83,000
Faclair na Gàidhlig, SFC, AHRC, ESRC: £2,000,000+
Comasan Labhairt ann an Gàidhlig (CLAG) / Gaelic Adult Proficiency (2014–19)
Funders:
Scottish Funding Council: £144,000
Leasachadh Corpais na Gàidhlig (LEACAG) / Gaelic Corpus Development (2015–18)
Funders:
Bòrd na Gàidhlig and MG Alba: £88,000
Sgeul na Gàidhlig / The Gaelic Story at the University of Glasgow (2013–15)
Funders:
Soillse: £22,000
Chancellor’s Fund: £10,000
The Power of Numbers: Variation and Sound Change in Gaelic (2011–12)
Funder:
British Academy: £115,000
SOILLSE 2009–18
Soillse A Research Capacity to Support the maintenance and Revitalisation of Gaelic Language and Culture, 2010–14.
Funders:
Scottish Funding Council, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the individual universities. Overall cost of project: £5.4m. External funding to Glasgow: £281,000.
PoMS, 2007–10
Co-Investigator with Professor Dauvit Broun, of the AHRC-funded interdisciplinary project, The Paradox of Medieval Scotland 1093–1286: Social Relationships and Identities before the Wars of Independence.
Funder:
AHRC: £629,437
A’ Fosgladh Seòmar Mhic Ghill’Eathain: Unlocking the MacLean Room, 2010
With Dr Aonghas MacCoinnich and Dr Katherine Forsyth; a project to catalogue the unique collections of the ‘departmental’ research archive held in the MacLean Room.
Funder:
Chancellor’s Fund: £18,000
Language and Identity: The Transmission of Scottish Gaelic in the Modern World, 2009–13
With Professor Jane Stuart-Smith and Dr Andrew Smith to fund a PhD Studentship
Funder:
Lord Kelvin / Adam Smith Fund: £80,000
Supervision
Recent and current PG supervision of research degrees at Glasgow includes:
MPhil by Research
- Nancy Dutton, 'The Copula in Gaelic'
- Julia Kühns, 'Edition of An Acallam Becc'
- Stuart Harris-Logan,'Gaelic Bird Imitation in Folksongs, Oral narrative and Fowling Traditions from the 17th Century'
- Gilleabuig Dòmhnallach, 'Ainmean-àite a' Bhràighe'
MRes
- Veronika Csonka, 'The Category of Person in Gaelic'
- David Robinson, 'Phonological Interaction between Gaelic and Scots'
- Charles Wilson, 'Language Planning: Comparative Studies'
PhD
- Joina NicDhòmhnaill, ‘Bàrdachd-baile na Hearadh’
- Julia Kühns, ‘The Early Modern Irish Recension of OIdheadh Con Culainn and Laoidh na gCeann: Text, Transmission and Manuscript Tradition’
- Sìm Innes, ‘Cràbhachd do Mhoire air a’ Ghàidhealtachd sna meadhan-aoisean anmoch, le aire shònraichte do Leabhar Deadhan Lios Mòir’ (2006–10).
- Cassie Smith-Christmas, ‘Code-switching in the Gaelic of Northern Skye’ (co-supervision with English Language)
- Claire Nance, ‘The Transmission of Gaelic among Adolescents: Phonetics and Sociology’ (co-supervision with English Language and Sociology)
- Nicola Carty, ‘The Gaelic L2 acquisition process: Order of acquisition and constraints on near-nativeness in advanced learners’
- Martin Maher, ‘The Death of Finn mac Cumaill’
- McNulty, Erin
Language Ideologies and Morphosyntactic Variation in New Speakers of Manx Gaelic
Teaching
(When not Head of College) I teach at all levels of undergraduate and postgraduate provision. First year and second-year teaching includes or has included courses on: Gaelic Sounds, Gaelic Reading, Gaelic Prose, Gaelic Phonetics, Gaelic Linguistics and Sociolinguistics and contributions to Celtic Civilisation 2B on Modern Irish language and literature.
Honours teaching includes the following courses:
- Introduction to Modern Irish
- Gaelic Dialectology
- Historical Development of the Gaelic Languages
- Classical Gaelic
- Twentieth Century Modern Irish Poetry
- Modern Irish Prose
I teach research specialisms and advanced Gaelic language classes for our taught Masters programmes. I regularly supervise dissertations at Honours, Masters and PhD level.
I was deeply honoured to have been awarded the winning prize for the ‘Most Organised Course’ category in the inaugural Prizes for Excellent Teacher Awards in March 2011, organised by the SRC.
Additional information
Biography
My family, friends and colleagues call be Robby or Rob. Born in Dublin, I was educated at St Peter’s National School and Drimnagh Castle Secondary School. I studied Irish and Mathematics for a BA Hons Degree at University College Dublin, where I also undertook a postgraduate Masters degree in the Gaelic languages and literatures of Ireland and Scotland. I was awarded the prestigious Postgraduate Travelling Studentship from the National University of Ireland, which enabled me to study in Scotland, specifically linguistics and Celtic Studies at the University of Edinburgh, where I graduated with a PhD on the basis of a thesis about Gaelic historical phonology.
I was appointed a lecturer at the Department of Celtic, University of Edinburgh, in January 1993, where I worked with Professor William Gillies and Mr Ronald Black. We hosted the 10th International Congress of Celtic Studies in 1995, and subsequently published the proceedings as Celtic Connections (1999). I established Ionad na Gaeilge / Centre for Irish Studies at the University of Edinburgh in 1993. In the year 1996, Scottish Gaelic in Three Months was published in the HUGO language series, which I wrote with Iain MacAonghuis as native speaker consultant. A slightly enlarged edition was published by Dorling Kindersley (1998, 1999) and a completely revised edition was published under the title, Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks by Birlinn in 2008. Several thousand copies have been printed and reprinted.
In 2001 I was appointed Assistant Professor at the School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, where I directed the Bibliography of Irish Linguistics and Literature project. I designed and published for the first time two online bibliographical databases: see Bibliography of Irish Linguistics and Literature 1942–71 and Bibliography of Irish Linguistics and Literature 1972–
I was appointed to a personal chair in Gaelic at the University of Glasgow in January 2005, and was Head of Department from 2007–11. In April 2010, I was appointed to the first ever established Chair of Gaelic. I was Deputy Head of Sgoil nan Daonnachdan / School of Humanities from 2010–12 and Head of School from 2012–14 before being appointed in 2014 as Vice Principal and Head of the College of Arts (January 2015–July 2022). I was very proud to be the University’s LGBT Equality Champion when I served as a member of the Senior Management Group (SMG).
I founded the Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic (DASG) and Corpas na Gàidhlig projects in 2006 and 2008 respectively. Both were officially launched in 2014. A new project, Cluas ri Claisneachd, DASG’s Audio Archive was publicly launched at the Principal’s Lodging in August 2018, where we also celebrated the University’s acceptance of the bequest of the archived papers and collections of the renowned Lewis Gaelic poet and teacher (and Glasgow alumnus) Norman MacLeod (1904–68), known as ‘Am Bàrd Bochd’. The DASG project, which has employed over 20 Gaelic graduates, was shortlisted in the 2018 national Duaisean na Gàidhlig awards in the Best Contribution category,
Along with my colleagues Michel Byrne and Thomas Clancy, I am a co-editor of Aiste 1: Rannsachadh air Litreachas Gàidhlig / Studies in Gaelic Literature.
I was particularly delighted to appoint in 2009 the first ever Gaelic Language Officer in a UK University, Fiona Dunn, who is now Gaelic Language Manager for the University and who established the highly successful UofG Gàidhlig initiative.
Another rewarding project I initiated was Sgeul na Gàidhlig / The Gaelic Story at the University of Glasgow with my colleagues Dr Katherine Forsyth and Dr Aonghas MacCoinnich (main researcher), which explored the history of Gaelic and Gaels at the University of Glasgow since 1451 to the present day.
External Contribution: Gaelic
I have taken an active interest in Gaelic language and cultural developments in Scotland. Some of my roles and responsibilities in the Gaelic world have included or include:
- 1994–2000: University representative on the Gaelic Panel of the Scottish Examination Board (1994–97); Scottish Qualifications Authority (1997–2000).
- 1998–2001: Chairperson of Comann nam Pàrant (Dùn Èideann)[Edinburgh Gaelic-medium Parents’ Support Group].
- 2000–20: Board of Celtic Studies representative on Management / Steering Committee of ‘Faclair na Pàrlamaid Project’, which produced Faclair na Pàrlamaid: Dictionary of Terms (Edinburgh: The Scottish Parliament, February 2001) [see also www.scotland.gov.uk/dictionary].
- 2005–: Executive member of the Board of Celtic Studies Scotland; Secretary, 2009–.
- 2005–20: Chair, Comhairle nan Leabhraichean / Gaelic Books Council.
- 2005–: Member of Advisory Committee, Faclair na Gàidhlig.
- 2015–: Chair of Advisory Committee, Faclair na Gàidhlig.
- 2007–: Member of Steering Committee, Faclair na Gàidhlig.
- 2007–20: University of Glasgow Senate representative, Catherine McCaig Trust; Acting Chair 2010–.
- 2008–20: Member, Bòrd na Gàidhlig’s Working Party on Research.
- 2008–10: Member, Bòrd na Gàidhlig’s Gaelic Learners’ Advisory Board.
- 2009–18: Trustee, Gaelic representative, Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd.
- 2010–: Member, Management Group, Soillse.
External Examiner: Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught Degrees
- 1998–2003: External Examiner for Gaelic language and literature, University of the Highlands and Islands (Project); Senior External Examiner 2001–03.
- 1999–2003: External Examiner for Irish language and literature, Leeds Metropolitan University.
- 2003–20: External Examiner for Celtic (undergraduate and postgraduate) degrees, University of Glasgow.
- 2004–20: External Examiner for Celtic (undergraduate and postgraduate) degrees, Queen’s University Belfast.
- 2004–20: External Examiner for the Dr Henry Hutchinson Stewart Scholarship and Prizes in (Modern, Early Modern, Middle and Old) Irish,National University of Ireland(i.e. for universities in Dublin, Maynooth, Galway and Cork).
- 2007–2010: External Examiner for Celtic (undergraduate and postgraduate) degrees, University of Edinburgh.
- 2010–20: External Examiner for Old Irish, National University of Ireland, Galway.
External Examiner: Postgraduate Research Degrees
- University of Ulster
- University of Edinburgh
- National University of Ireland
- University of the Highlands and Islands & University of Aberdeen
- University of Aberystwyth
External Assessor
- 1998–99: External Validator for new degrees in the University of the Highlands and Islands (Project).
- 2001–20: External Validator for new degree courses, University of Ulster (Coleraine, Belfast and Magee colleges).
- 2003–: External Assessor for: Arts and Humanities Research Board / Council (AHRB / C); Leverhulme Trust; The British Academy; Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences; National Science Foundation (USA).
- 2005: External Assessor for Quality Assessment of Department of Irish, St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, Dublin.
- 2006: External Assessor and panel member ofIrish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences, to assess Government of Ireland Research Project Grants in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
- 2005–: External Assessor for numerous professorial appointments.
- 2006–20; 2009–2012: AHRC Peer Review College.
- 2009: Deputy Chair of RAE Panel, University College Cork.
- 2017: National University of Ireland, Galway
- 2019: University College Cork
Editorial Boards
- Ainm: A Journal of Name Studies (Belfast)
- The Journal of Celtic Studies (Aberdeen)
- Scottish Gaelic Studies (Aberdeen)
- Éigse: A Journal of Irish Studies (Dublin)
- Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster Internet Publications Series (Aberdeen)
- North American Journal of Celtic Studies (Ohio)
