About Marion McGarry:

Dr Marion McGarry is an Irish historian based in Sligo. Author of four books, she is also a heritage consultant and illustrator. She lectures at Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT). She has a Master's Degree in art history (University of Limerick) and a PhD (Ulster University). 

​BOOKS:
Marion McGarry, Irish Customs and Rituals: How Our Ancestors Celebrated Life and the Seasons (Orpen Press, 2020). 
https://orpenpress.com/books/irish-customs-and-rituals-how-our-ancestors-celebrated-life-and-the-seasons/
Also available for Kindle and other e-book formats.

Marion McGarry and Dermot O'Donovan, See the Wood From the Trees (Artisan House, 2018). https://artisanhouse.ie/product/see-the-wood-from-the-trees/

Marion McGarry, The Irish Cottage: History, Culture and Design (Orpen Press, 2017).
https://orpenpress.com/books/the-irish-cottage-history-culture-and-design/

Marion McGarry, An Illustrated Dictionary of Furniture and Interiors (Stobart Davies, 2014)
An Illustrated Dictionary of Furniture & Interiors : Marion McGarry : 9780854421428 (bookdepository.com)

CONNECT:
Email: marionmcgarry@gmail.com / Twitter: @marion_mcgarry / Instagram: drmarionmcgarry

WATCH / LISTEN:
December 2020: Talk on the history of trees in Ireland for 'Whose Woods These Are: A Festival of Trees' / The Dock Arts Centre, Co. Leitrim, Ireland. https://youtu.be/DlZiemqf9hI?t=1806

15 July 2021: On BBC's World Business Report discussing the importance of Irish heritage pubs (starts c.2:16) World Business Report - Will Ireland's traditional pubs survive? - BBC Sounds

RECENT ARTICLES:

RTÉ Brainstorm, 15 March, 2021. Why Ireland's older pubs are part of our cultural heritage (rte.ie)

Self Build Ireland magazine: Spring 2021. 'How disease influences design: furniture and architecture'.

RTÉ Brainstorm, 12 February, 2021. Love island: the love lives of our 19th century ancestors (rte.ie)

Irish Humanities Alliance Blog, 27 October, 2020. 'Halloween in Ireland: a merry gathering in the face of fear'.
https://www.irishhumanities.com/blog/halloween-a-merry-celebration-in-the-face-of-fear/

RTÉ Brainstorm, 28 September, 2020. 'Are the wrong office chairs and desks causing injuries to home workers?'
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0928/1167889-working-from-home-office-chair-desk-furniture-posure-injuries/

RTÉ Brainstorm, 14 August, 2020. 'Why heritage matters'.
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0812/1158801-national-heritage-week-ireland-funding-government/

RTÉ Brainstorm, 6 July 2020. 'A guide to piseogs: Ireland's sinister folk magic spells' https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0706/1151667-piseogs-ireland-folklore-evil-magic-spells/

RTÉ Brainstorm, 27 May 2020. 'Why next Sunday is the unluckiest day of the year'
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0526/1142680-whit-sunday-ireland-folklore-tradition/

Irish Humanities Alliance Blog, 21 May 2020. 'Life under lockdown: the 1832 cholera epidemic as seen by Charlotte Stoker' https://www.irishhumanities.com/blog/life-under-lockdown-the-1832-cholera-epidemic/

RTÉ Brainstorm, 6 May 2020. 'Death, sex, superstition and fear: the Hawthorn tree in Ireland' 
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0506/1136776-hawthorn-tree-ireland-folklore/

RTÉ Brainstorm, 15 April 2020. 'The evolution of the Irish funeral ritual' 
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0415/1130559-ireland-funerals-wakes-death-rituals-coronavirus/

RTÉ Brainstorm podcast: 1 April 2020. 'Covid 19: when panic, conspiracy theories, quack cures and folklore collide'
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0401/1127754-conspiracy-theories-quack-cures-fake-news-pandemics-folklore/

RTÉ Brainstorm: 26 February 2020. ‘When Lent in Ireland meant no sex, music, alcohol or merrymaking’ https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0225/1117546-lent-in-ireland/

RTÉ Brainstorm: 25 February 2020. ‘The weird traditions around Pancake Tuesday’. https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0224/1117313-pancake-shrove-tuesday-ireland-folklore-history/

Irish Independent: 1 February 2020. 'Biddy boys, holy wells and dreams of love: how to mark St Brigid's Day' https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/biddy-boys-holy-wells-and-dreams-of-love-how-to-mark-st-brigids-day-38911569.html

RTÉ Brainstorm: 6 January 2020. 'The roots and traditions of Nollaig na mBan' https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0102/1103975-the-roots-and-traditions-of-nollaig-na-mban/

RTÉ Brainstorm: 19 December 2019. 'How our ancestors enjoyed a sustainable Christmas'
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/1218/1101925-how-our-ancestors-enjoyed-a-sustainable-christmas/

RTÉ Brainstorm: 11 November 2019. 'Blood sacrifice rites in Irish tradition' 
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/1108/1089533-martinmas-blood-sacrifice-rites-ireland-november-11th/

RTÉ Brainstorm: 30 October 2019. 'Beyond the brack: Irish Halloween folk magic and spells'
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/1016/1083781-a-guide-to-irish-halloween-magic-spells/

RTÉ Brainstorm: 27 September 2019. 'Geese, daisies and debts: Michaelmas customs in Ireland' 
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0926/1078446-geese-and-paying-the-rent-michaelmas-customs-in-ireland/

RTÉ Brainstorm: 25 July 2019. 'Why the last Sunday in July was celebrated in Ireland of old'
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0723/1064857-why-the-last-sunday-in-july-was-celebrated-in-ireland-of-old/

SelfBuild Ireland magazine: Autumn 2019. 'The B-Word' The influence of Bungalow Bliss on modern Irish vernacular architecture; pp 122-6 https://issuu.com/selfbuildireland/docs/autumn_2019

RTÉ Brainstorm: 2 July 2019. 'A potted history of change in the Phoenix Park' https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0701/1059540-a-potted-history-of-change-in-the-phoenix-park/

SelfBuild Ireland magazine: Summer 2019. ‘Choosing the right materials for your kitchen'. https://selfbuild.ie/advice/the-right-materials-for-your-kitchen/

RTÉ Brainstorm: 30 April 2019. 'Fire, water, light and luck: Bealtaine traditions in Ireland' https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0429/1046282-fire-water-light-and-luck-bealtaine-traditions-in-ireland/

SelfBuild Ireland magazine: Spring 2019. ‘Kitchen styles’ on contemporary furniture design https://selfbuild.ie/basics/kitchen-styles/
 
RTÉ Brainstorm: 15 Mar 2019. ‘A day off Lent: St Patrick's Day traditions from the past’ https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0314/1036394-a-day-off-from-lent-st-patricks-day-traditions-from-the-past/
 
RTÉ Brainstorm: 8 Jan 2019. ‘Room to improve: the homes of Ireland’s nineteenth century rural poor’ https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0107/1021775-room-to-improve-the-homes-of-irelands-19th-century-rural-poor/
 
SelfBuild Ireland magazine: Winter 2018. ‘Tailored kitchen design’ on contemporary furniture design https://selfbuild.ie/advice/tailored-kitchen-design/
 
RTÉ Brainstorm: 17 Dec 2018. ‘What was Christmas like in rural Ireland back in the day?’ https://www.rte.ie/eile/brainstorm/2018/1217/1017597-what-was-christmas-like-in-rural-ireland-back-in-the-day/
 
Irish Independent: 10 November 2018. ‘Cholera, Sligo and the shaping of Dracula: Stories of victims being buried alive haunted Bram Stoker's mother’ https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/cholera-sligo-and-the-shaping-of-dracula-stories-of-victims-being-buried-alive-haunted-bram-stokers-mother-37508980.html
 
RTÉ Brainstorm: 30th October 2018. 'Was Dracula Irish?' https://www.rte.ie/eile/brainstorm/2018/1024/1006320-was-dracula-irish/

RTÉ Brainstorm: 23rd October 2018. 'Seven things you probably didn't know about Áras an Uachtaráin' https://www.rte.ie/eile/brainstorm/2018/1023/1006054-7-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-aras-an-uachtarain/

The Irish Times, September 14, 2018 'Why the Áras furnished Letterfrack with storm-felled trees' article co-authored with Dermot O'Donovan.

SelfBuild Ireland magazine: Spring 2018. ‘The First Irish Self-Builds’ https://selfbuild.ie/advice/the-first-irish-self-builds

INTERVIEWS: Broadcast & print

15 July 2021: On BBC's World Business Report discussing the importance of Irish heritage pubs (2:16) World Business Report - Will Ireland's traditional pubs survive? - BBC Sounds

30 June 2021: Sligo Walking Series – Knocknarea Video with Marion McGarry – Sligo Walks

16 February 2021: Discussing Irish Pancake Tuesday traditions on RTÉ Morning Ireland Morning Ireland (rte.ie)

6 January 2021: Guest on RTÉ Radio One Morning Ireland discussing Nollaig na mBan
https://www.rte.ie/radio/utils/share/radio1/21890478

July 2020:  Guest on The Irish History Show, podcast here:
​http://irishhistoryshow.ie/62-bram-stoker-and-the-sligo-cholera-epidemic-of-1832/

June 2020: Interview on pandemics and literature in this article by Ronan Connell in Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/irish-epidemic-inspired-dracula

April 2020: Interview on pandemics and literature for this article by Colin Murphy for the Sunday Business Post: https://www.businesspost.ie/coronavirus/facing-down-a-virus-d2e32d37

February 2020: Guest on RTE News at One with Áine Lawlor discussing old Irish Shrove traditions
https://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/html5/#/radio1/21720049

December 2018: RTÉ Liveline Christmas special, studio guest with Joe Duffy, discussing traditional Irish Christmas customs (begins 29 mins approx.): https://www.rte.ie/radio1/liveline/programmes/2018/1220/1018391-liveline-thursday-20-december-2018/

November 2018: ‘Cholera = Dracula’ paper presented at the Bodies of Data conference hosted by the Irish Humanities Alliance in collaboration with UCD and DIT.  https://soundcloud.com/ucd-digital-culture/marion-mcgarry-dracula-cholera?in=ucd-digital-culture/sets/bodies-of-data-intersecting-medical-and-digital-humanities

WATCH:
December 2020: Talk on the history of trees in Ireland for 'Whose Woods These Are: A Festival of Trees' / The Dock Arts Centre, Co. Leitrim, Ireland. https://youtu.be/DlZiemqf9hI?t=1806


October 2020: Interview on old Irish customs and beliefs of Samhain on RTÉ Brainstorm:
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/1021/1173088-how-the-irish-really-invented-halloween/
​

ACADEMIC / PEER REVIEWED JOURNALS:

McGarry, M. "Irish Folk Beliefs of Pregnancy and Birth" in Salvador Ryan (ed.), Birth and the Irish: a Miscellany (Dublin: Wordwell Press, forthcoming, 2021). 

McGarry, M. (2020) Book Review: "Bram Stoker and the Late Victorian World ed. by Matthew Gibson and Sabine Lenore Muller" in Irish Studies Review, Vol 28, Issue 2, 2020. 
​https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/VBHIAAFY67EVZKVA7ZCX/full?target=10.1080/09670882.2020.1748085

McGarry, M. (2020) ”Cholera=Dracula: the influences of Sligo’s cholera epidemic of 1832 on Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula (1897)" in Journal of Medical Humanities special edition entitled 'Epidemics and Disease in Ireland; Literature, Culture, Histories', forthcoming.

McGarry, M. (2019) 'Bram Stoker in Ballymote' in The Corran Herald (the Journal of the Ballymote Heritage Group), Issue 52, 2019-2020, PP. 82-85.

McGarry, M. (2018) Book Review: "Making Majesty: The Throne Room in Dublin Castle, a Cultural History ed. by Myles Campbell and William Derham" in Irish Studies Review, Vol 26, Issue 3, 2018. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09670882.2018.1483706

McGarry, M. (2017) Book Review: "Ireland’s Harp: the Shaping of Irish Identity (1770-1880) by Marie Louise O’Donnell” in Irish Studies Review, Vol 25, Issue 3, 2017. 
http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ZMfWpYXHHDUQPkzDTmWe/full

McGarry, M. “Creating a Noble Past: The Design of Glenstal Abbey” History Ireland magazine: Issue 2 (March – April 2010), Volume 18. http://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/creating-a-noble-past-the-design-of-glenstal-castle-1836-61/

McGarry, M. and Elkadi, H. (2009) “'Norman’ Architecture: Perception of Origin and Power in Irish Cultural Heritage” in Interrogating Tradition Series; Traditional Settlements Review, Berkeley.

McGarry, M. (2007) “The Design of Glenstal Castle” in The Journal for the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 136, PP. 39-49.

McGarry, M. (2006) “The Architecture of Glenstal Castle (1836-1861)” in The Old Limerick Journal, Vol. 42, Winter 2006.

RTÉ Brainstorm doc below, at 3.30m: