Marcas Mac Coinnigh

Marcas Mac Coinnigh is a Senior Lecturer at Queen's University Belfast (QUB) in the School of Arts, English and Languages, Department of Modern Languages. His research expertise spans Irish language phraseology, stereotypes in proverbial material, and intersections between language and social memory. He has held fellowships at the University of London (2017–18) and the University of Notre Dame (2010–11). Prior to QUB, he worked at University College Cork (2006–7) and Ulster University (2003–6).

Education background includes research roles at UCC and Ulster University. His academic journey is marked by extensive interdisciplinary engagement, including contributions to the field of paremiology.

Research interests focus on formulaic language structures, collective memory in linguistic landscapes, and narrative traditions in Irish folklore. He explores how phraseological units in Irish reflect cultural identity and historical narratives. Recent work emphasizes the role of linguistic memory in sociopolitical contexts, such as post-conflict Belfast.

Publications and activities highlight his involvement in 45+ academic events, including conferences on proverb studies and peer-reviewed lexicographical projects. He is an Associate Fellow at QUB’s Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice and serves on committees for Cló Léann na Gaeilge and the Irish Conference of Folklore & Ethnology.

He has supervised numerous PhD theses, including studies on Irish language revival movements, legal translation in the Irish Free State, and sociolinguistic analysis of Belfast’s dialect. His teaching spans undergraduate modules like Gaeilge 1 Béaloideas na hÉireann and postgraduate courses such as Language Revival, Reconciliation, and Politics in Ireland.

Professional awards include the Fulbright Senior Irish Language Scholar (2010) and Visiting Fellowships at the Institute of Modern Languages Research (2017). His work bridges folkloristics, lexicography, and sociolinguistics with a focus on Irish cultural heritage.