Ruth Duffy

Ruth Duffy is a Research Fellow at Queen's University Belfast's School of Arts, English and Languages. She previously served as an Oral History and Public Engagement Officer on the NHS Voices of Covid-19 project at the University of Manchester. Her work focuses on medical and oral history, particularly modern British and Irish history, the Troubles, and Irish society/culture. She is a fellow at The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.

Her education includes a PhD thesis awarded the Adele Dalsimer Prize (2022) and the AHSS best thesis by Ulster University (2022). Her monograph on Northern Ireland healthcare during the Troubles won the Donald Murphy Prize for Distinguished First Book (2024). She has collaborated with the University of Birmingham's Forged by Fire project, Belfast City Council's Freedom of the City Music Project, and contributed to the Epidemic Belfast podcast and RTE Brainstorm blog.

Ruth's research emphasizes oral history to uncover sensitive histories, such as healthcare experiences during the Troubles and mixed marriage dynamics in Ireland. She co-edited Mixed Marriages and Mixed Relationships in Ireland and its Diaspora, c.1880-present (2022) and is involved in the UKRI Future Leaders-funded project ‘Acts of Union: Mixed Marriage in Modern Ireland’, exploring how couples' experiences intersect with cultural narratives through theatre and exhibitions.

Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals, including peaceful societies and cultural preservation. She has presented at events like the Northern Ireland Science Festival and ESRC Social Sciences Festival, and recently advised at the Oral History and History of Childhood Workshop (April 2025).