The University of Notre Dame Academic Council voted on April 23 in support of a structural change to the research and teaching of the Irish language in the College of Arts & Letters. Effective July 1, 2025, the Department of Irish Language and Literature and its undergraduate major and supplementary major will be dissolved.
All faculty members from the department will keep their tenure status and current rank but will become affiliated with other departmental homes or reporting structures in the College of Arts & Letters. Courses on the Irish language will still be offered regularly, allowing students to study Irish in order to fulfill University or College requirements for language learning.
Undergraduates will continue to be able to earn a credential in Irish through two programs — a minor in Irish language and literature (housed in the College of Arts & Letters) and a minor in Irish studies (housed in the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, part of the Keough School for Global Affairs). Both minors will be administered by the same director of undergraduate studies.
The Irish language has been taught at Notre Dame off and on for more than a century. Courses were first offered consistently beginning in 1991 through the Department of English. The Department of Irish Language and Literature was created in 2004 to build upon the success of the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, which was established in 1993.
While the structure has evolved, the College remains committed to fostering faculty and student engagement with Irish language, literature, and culture, including through renewed partnership with the Keough-Naughton Institute.
“We believe this set of actions offers the most sustainable path for preserving the rich tradition of research and teaching of the Irish language at Notre Dame,” said Michael Pries, interim dean of the College of Arts & Letters and associate dean for the social sciences. “Following this reorganization, our faculty who study and teach the Irish language will be well supported in their continued academic and curricular endeavors.”
Brian Ó Conchubhair, a renowned scholar of the Irish language and member of the Notre Dame faculty for 20 years, has been appointed to serve as director of Irish language initiatives. He will be charged with enhancing student programming, ensuring the Irish language remains visible on campus, and collaborating with other Irish-focused initiatives to further promote Irish cultural engagement.
Together with the Keough-Naughton Institute, the College will also launch the Irish Writer and Scholar Series, an annual set of events that brings Irish writers and literary scholars to campus each year. Through a combination of readings, lectures, workshops, and discussions, the series — organized by a committee led by Clíona Ríordáin, the Thomas J. and Kathleen M. O’Donnell Chair in Irish Language and Literature, and Barry McCrea, the Donald R. Keough Family Professor of Irish Studies — aims to deepen understanding and appreciation of contemporary Irish literature while fostering cross-cultural exchange between Ireland and the United States.
