The Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society is delighted to announce that Alan Millar (Ulster University) is the winner of the Society’s 2026 Open Research Bursary.
Alan’s research examines poetry published in the United Irish newspaper The Northern Star (1792-97), through an assessment of a number of key poetic correspondents, and their radical contributions to the Romantic period literary canon.
Commenting on the impact the bursary will have, Alan said:
“The Open Bursary will allow me to conduct important research in a number of Scottish national archives on a key early Northern Star correspondent – believed to be Scottish – about whom almost nothing is known, outside of his literary footprint. This research has the potential to transform received wisdom, whilst affording me the opportunity to consolidate my understanding of how people, radical literature and ideas moved between Ireland and Scotland, in the context of Northern Star poetry.”
This bursary, up to the value of €2,000, was introduced to support all elements of the study of eighteenth-century Ireland. It may be used for supporting archival research, the organisation of symposiums or conferences, or publication expenses associated with a monograph or other substantial work of original research focused on this period. They are a key element of the Society’s ongoing work to foster cutting-edge research and research dissemination in the field of eighteenth-century studies.