Recent publications & features:

Dr Marion McGarry is an Irish writer and historian based in Sligo. She lectures at Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), has a PhD from Ulster University and a Master's Degree from University of Limerick. She has authored four books, is a heritage consultant and designer/illustrator.

Independent research interests:  Irish folklife, customs, vernacular architecture and furniture, 19th-20th century. Identity in medieval revival styles in Irish 'Big House' architecture in 19th century. The influence of Sligo's cholera epidemic of 1832 on Bram Stoker’s fiction. The history of trees in Ireland. Contemporary Irish furniture and timber products. 

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

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) http://www.stobartdavies.com/PBSCCatalog.asp?ItmID=14677361

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

ARTICLES AVAILABLE ONLINE:
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: Podcasts & print

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

January 2020: Talk on Irish folklore and customs for Cranmore Community Co-op, Sligo. https://soundcloud.com/ken-gunning-221356668/irish-folklore-and-customs

October 2019: Guest on Kildare FM's Kildare Focus with Ciara Plunkett, discussing Bram Stoker's connection to Sligo (begins 37:30 mins)
https://soundcloud.com/kfmradiokildare/kildare-focus-31-10-19

April 2019: Guest on Clare FM's Morning Focus with Gavin Grace, discussing traditional Irish cottages:
http://www.clare.fm/blog/morning-focus-tuesday-9th-april-2019/

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:
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/
​
October 2019: Introducing Dacre Stoker at The Word, Sligo Central Library:
​https://sligolibrary.ie/sligo-central-library/

October 2019: RTE News: Connection Between Sligo and Dracula Strengthened:
https://www.rte.ie/news/connacht/2019/1023/1085242-dracula-sligo-connection/

ACADEMIC / PEER REVIEWED JOURNALS:

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: