Fionnuala Dillane

Professor Fionnuala Dillane is a leading scholar in nineteenth-century British literature and culture, periodical studies, memory studies, and gender, based at the School of English, Drama and Film, University College Dublin. She holds the academic rank of Professor and is actively engaged in research, teaching, and academic leadership. She currently serves as Academic Director of the UCD Writing Centre and Chair of the UCD Press Editorial Board, and previously served as Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities (2017–2020). Her collaborative research spans institutions including Ghent University, Newcastle University, and the University of Iceland.

Her research interests include:

• Nineteenth-century British literature and culture
• Periodical studies and media history
• George Eliot and Marian Evans
• Memory studies and trauma
• Gender and sexualities
• Contemporary crime fiction

Her recent publications explore affect in periodical encounters, editorial identities, transnational periodical research, and the literary afterlives of George Eliot. The trends in her work reveal a sustained engagement with print culture, narrative form, emotional communities, and the politics of memory. She is currently editing the Handbook of Transnational Periodical Research (Brill, 2026).

Her scientific awards include:

• University Award for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, UCD (2017)
• Shortlisted for European Award in Teaching Excellence (2017)
• College of Arts and Humanities Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (2017)

Dillane has secured significant research grants, including from the Irish Research Council for her project on George Eliot and the Periodical Press, 1846–60, and on The Future of Data Humanities. She has supervised doctoral students such as David Mitchell and mentors emerging scholars in periodical studies and trauma fiction. She has pioneered innovative teaching initiatives, including the first internship programmes for UCD Arts and Humanities undergraduates and the development of the UCD Writing Centre, now permanently funded. She is also deeply involved in national and international advocacy for the humanities, serving on editorial and advisory boards such as the Journal of Victorian Culture, the Memory Studies Association, and the European Society for Periodical Research.