Sonja Tiernan is an Irish–New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in modern Irish history and gender politics.
Academic career
Tiernan is originally from Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.[1] She completed a PhD titled The literary life of Eva Gore-Booth (1870-1926) at the University College Dublin.[2] Tiernan was an associate professor at Liverpool Hope University before she was appointed the Eamon Cleary Professor of Irish Studies at the University of Otago in 2019.[3] Tiernan is Co-Director, with Professor Liam McIlvanney, of the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies.[4][5][6]
Tiernan's research focuses on modern Irish history, including gender politics and social history. She has published several books on Irish women, including a biography of writer and activist Eva Gore-Booth, a history of marriage equality in Ireland, and two volumes of Irish women's speeches.[4] When the first volume of speeches was published, it sold so well it had to be reprinted four times in the first month.[7] The book includes speeches by 33 women, including a speech by trade unionist Harriet Morison.[7]
After arriving in New Zealand, Tiernan was commissioned by the Embassy of Ireland to research historical and cultural links between New Zealand and Ireland. Her study included what is probably the first translation of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic into te reo Maori.[8]
Honours and award
In 2018 Tiernan was awarded the inaugural Library Research Award by the Keough-Naughton Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame.[9][10]
