Clingen Family Center for the Study of Modern Ireland

The Clingen Family Center for the Study of Modern Ireland was established in 2020 by a generous gift from long-time Notre Dame benefactors and Ireland Council members Brian and Deidre Clingen.  

A part of the Keough-Naughton Institute, the Center expands our study of Ireland and its place in the modern world. Some of the ways it does so are by sponsoring and supporting faculty at Notre Dame, faculty exchanges, postdoctoral and graduate fellowships, and student summer internships in Ireland. In addition, lectures, workshops, and conferences at the University and in Ireland engage our faculty, our students, our academic collaborators, and the Notre Dame and Irish studies communities.  

The Clingen Family Center's inaugural director is Dr. Colin Barr, formerly a faculty member at the University of Aberdeen. Dr. Barr’s academic interest is centered on the history of modern Ireland, with a particular focus on the Catholic Church both in Ireland itself and in the wider worlds of the Irish Diaspora.