With an appointment as the Herbert Allen and Donald R. Keough Visiting Faculty Fellow, Barr is visiting Notre Dame’s Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies this academic year from the University of Aberdeen, where he is senior lecturer in modern Irish history. Barr is author of Ireland’s Empire: The Roman Catholic Church in the English-Speaking World, 1829–1914 (Cambridge University Press, 2020). This year’s Hibernian Lecture is cosponsored by the Keough-Naughton Institute.
In 1978, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians undertook a campaign to establish an endowment at Notre Dame for illuminating Irish-American history. Thanks to this support, the Cushwa Center administers a variety of programs promoting the study of the Irish experience in Ireland and America, including the annual Hibernian Lecture.