Stephanie Rains

Stephanie Rains is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media Studies at Maynooth University since 2007, previously at IADT Dun Laoghaire. She holds a PhD from Dublin City University's School of Communications (2003). Her roles include coordinating 3rd-year BA Media Studies and MA Critical and Creative Media dissertation work, alongside teaching podcasting, media history, advertising, and political economy of media. She also serves as the department’s International Co-ordinator and supervises PhD students in Irish popular culture, film, radio, television, and cultural history.

Her research focuses on Irish media and cultural history, with emphases on advertising, consumer culture, and everyday life. Major works include Advertising and Consumer Culture in Ireland, 1922-1962: Buy Irish (2022), Commodity Culture and Social Class in Dublin, 1850-1916 (2010), and The Irish American in Popular Culture, 1945-2000 (2007). Current projects explore 20th-century Irish holiday-making practices, including domestic and international travel trends.

Publications span peer-reviewed journals (Irish Studies Review, Media History), book chapters, and media engagements (RTE documentaries, podcasts). She runs the Irish Media and Cultural History blog and actively participates in academic conferences globally. Her work bridges historical analysis with contemporary cultural studies, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding Ireland’s socio-cultural evolution.