Queen's University Belfast

Stuart Irwin

Stuart Irwin

Biographical details:

I attended Hazelwood Integrated College in north Belfast from 1999 to 2006, where I completed my A-Levels before enrolling at Queen’s University Belfast to study for my BA in Modern History (2010) and my MA in Irish History (2011). My MA dissertation was entitled ‘The protestant churches and industrial Belfast: a case-study of the Shankill Road Mission, c. 1896-1914’. I am now in the first year of my PhD.

Research topic and interests:

The title of my thesis is ‘Belfast Corporation, 1880-1914: managing a mature industrial city’. This study will examine the performance and effectiveness of local government in responding to the needs of Belfast during this important period of development for the city. My interest in the history of Belfast can be traced back to a module that I enrolled on as an undergraduate: ‘Society and politics in Belfast 1780-1918’ (HIS3016). More broadly, I enjoy Irish and British history, particularly focused on the nineteenth century.