Patrick McCoy on the joys of exploring literature in middle Irish.

What is your field and level of study?
I am a doctoral student at Harvard University in the department of Celtic languages and literature.

Tell us why you decided to pursue your chosen field of study.
I began undergraduate studies at Notre Dame as a classics major. One of the things that drew me to Notre Dame, however, was that they offered courses in Irish language and literature, and so I took beginning Irish in my first semester. The next semester I took a medieval Irish literature course. Before I knew it, I was hooked. By the time I graduated from Notre Dame (with a minor in Irish language and literature), I had taken two years of modern Irish, one year of old Irish, and numerous courses in Irish history, literature, and culture (both medieval and modern).

What have been your most rewarding experiences during your studies? Your most challenging?
My most rewarding experience during my studies would probably be spending my junior year abroad in Dublin.

My most challenging experience during my studies so far was writing my M.Phil. dissertation. I produced an edition and translation of a middle Irish text called Íartaige na hingine colaige do Grécaib, “The fate of the sinful daughter of the Greeks.”

What are you currently working on?
For a while now I have been working on a (mostly overlooked) group of short middle Irish texts found in the Book of Leinster. There are ten of these texts, ranging from a couple hundred words long to almost a thousand, and it seems likely that these texts are based on foreign tales, probably coming into Ireland written in Latin.

What are you currently reading?
At the moment I am reading for my Generals Exam, so I am reading all sorts of articles and books about Irish (and Welsh) history, law, language, literature, culture, and linguistics.

How do you hope to contribute to Irish Studies?
I hope that I can advance the scholarship in some positive way, hopefully producing at least one major work that will stand the test of time.

What are your future plans?
After finishing my Ph.D. I would like to work on an edition and translation of a group of middle Irish texts found in the Book of Leinster. But for the moment my primary future plan is to finish the Ph.D.