Undergraduates and postgraduates are invited to submit essays on any period of Irish legal history to compete for the Irish Legal History Society Student Essay Competition, now in its fourth year.
Founded in 1988, the Society examines, explores and engages with all issues relating to legal history on the island of Ireland, from earliest times to the present day, including the work of Irish lawyers abroad. Its mission is to encourage the study and advance the knowledge of the history of Irish law.
Prize: The winning entrant will receive a prize of €250 (the prize may be split where there are multiple winners) and a selected volume of an Irish Legal History Society publication (Four Courts Press). In addition, the winner(s) will be considered for publication in a forthcoming issue of History Ireland magazine.
Eligibility: The competition is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Essays must be written in English and be the work of students who are enrolled in a third level institution in Ireland or abroad, or within one year expiration of that enrolment.
Essay/Submission Details: Essays must be no longer than 5,000 words (including all references). All entries must use an accepted referencing style (such as APA, Harvard, Oscola), be typed, double-spaced, and include an abstract of approximately 100 words. Entries should be submitted, in Word format, via email by the student or their lecturer/professor (including the student in the email submission). In the email, please include: name, institutional affiliation, degree programme (please specify if undergraduate or postgraduate), and enrolment particulars (e.g. which year). Please include no identifying information in the Essay document.
Judging: Entries will be judged by the essay competition committee, assessed according to level and judged on the criteria:
- relevance of content to Irish legal history;
- makes a contribution to the knowledge base;
- clarity of organisation and argument;
- use of the literature, and
- writing style/quality.
Please note: The Society reserves the right not to make an award in a given year.
Deadline: Essays should be received no later than 31st May 2025.
Results: Results will be announced Autumn 2025.
Please email essay submissions to: Dr Lynsey Black, School of Law and Criminology, Maynooth University – lynsey.black@mu.ie
Previous winning essays included:
- Noah Williams, Nationalism, Homophobia, and a Victorian Dublin Subculture
- Kerri Armstrong, Drunk, Deviant and Disgraced: Women and Crime in Late Nineteenth Century Belfast
- Maitiú Breathnach, Hidden Trials?: The Case of the Easter Rising Field General Court-Martials
- Emma Quinn, The Sovereignty of Silence: Women Witnesses to the Carrigan Report and the Rise and Fall of Professional Womanhood in Ireland, 1880-1937
2024 ILHS Student Essay Prize Winners
You must be logged in to post a comment.