Patricia Kenny

Patricia Kenny is a PhD Candidate at the UCD School of Archaeology, University College Dublin. Her research focuses on the cultural significance of stones with geological inclusions in Atlantic Europe's passage tombs (4200–3000 BC). Supervised by Dr. Jessica Smyth, her work is funded by the Irish Research Council and the National University of Ireland Travelling Studentship Prize. She investigates how Neolithic societies selected stones for burial monuments, linking this to ethnographic studies of cultural beliefs about geological features.

Her research spans sites in Ireland, Orkney, north Wales, and Brittany, analyzing stone selection patterns through statistical and spatial analysis. She also reviews anthropological data to explore potential cultural meanings of these stones. Methodologically, her project includes three phases: data collection (2018–2019), distribution analysis, and ethnographic analogy.

Awarded prestigious fellowships, Patricia’s work bridges archaeology, geology, and anthropology, contributing to understanding Neolithic belief systems and material culture. She is affiliated with the UCD School of Archaeology’s research team, advancing interdisciplinary studies of prehistoric monuments.