Damian Shiels
@irishacw.bsky.social
Historian & Archaeologist. Digital Humanities, Public Engagement.
Latest Book: lsupress.org/9780807183700/green-and-blue/
Transatlantic Podcast: shows.acast.com/transatlantic
StoryMaps: https://shielsheritage.com/storymaps/
www.shielsheritage.com
Latest Book: lsupress.org/9780807183700/green-and-blue/
Transatlantic Podcast: shows.acast.com/transatlantic
StoryMaps: https://shielsheritage.com/storymaps/
www.shielsheritage.com
Reposted by Damian Shiels
Happy #pudbday to Kenneth W. Noe! "Abraham Lincoln and the Heroic Legend," out today, boldly questions the long-accepted notion that the sixteenth president was an almost-perfect commander in chief.
📚: https://bit.ly/heroiclegend
📚: https://bit.ly/heroiclegend
February 3, 2026 at 5:52 PM
The latest episode of Transatlantic is now out! We dip into the Irish Folklore Collection in search of America- looking at ghost stories, sense of loss, fears over returned immigrants and representations of the American West and Native Americans: shows.acast.com/transatlanti...
37. American Emigrants in Irish Folklore | Transatlantic: An Irish American History Podcast
shows.acast.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:24 AM
The latest episode of Transatlantic is now out! We dip into the Irish Folklore Collection in search of America- looking at ghost stories, sense of loss, fears over returned immigrants and representations of the American West and Native Americans: shows.acast.com/transatlanti...
Reposted by Damian Shiels
Getting ready for the final part of our series on the 1916 Rising with @irishacw.bsky.social this evening!
Tonight we'll hear about the aftermath of the Rising, its role in the nation that followed, and how it is remembered today.
Tonight we'll hear about the aftermath of the Rising, its role in the nation that followed, and how it is remembered today.
So excited to start our new three-part lecture series on Understanding the Places, People & Politics of the 1916 Rising with Dr Damian Shiels!
The opening session is on this evening, and looks at the context of the Rising.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm #IrishHistory
The opening session is on this evening, and looks at the context of the Rising.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm #IrishHistory
January 29, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Getting ready for the final part of our series on the 1916 Rising with @irishacw.bsky.social this evening!
Tonight we'll hear about the aftermath of the Rising, its role in the nation that followed, and how it is remembered today.
Tonight we'll hear about the aftermath of the Rising, its role in the nation that followed, and how it is remembered today.
Reposted by Damian Shiels
It is publication today for Late Heaney I am told, although I imagine it’ll be a while before I see it between ice storms and the broad Atlantic. I thought I’d share a few thoughts about it, as it’s a different kind of book for me in form and style.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
January 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM
It is publication today for Late Heaney I am told, although I imagine it’ll be a while before I see it between ice storms and the broad Atlantic. I thought I’d share a few thoughts about it, as it’s a different kind of book for me in form and style.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Thanks so much to the fantastic Civil War Books & Authors for naming "Green & Blue" as runner-up in their 2025 Civil War Top Ten list of books. Amazing to make a list like that and be in such great company (including, appropriately, a battlefield archaeology title)😊 cwba.blogspot.com/2026/01/2025...
2025 - The CIVIL WAR BOOKS and AUTHORS Book of the Year and Top Ten Year in Review
Non-fiction Civil War book reviews, commentary, publishing news, author interviews, and profiles
cwba.blogspot.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Thanks so much to the fantastic Civil War Books & Authors for naming "Green & Blue" as runner-up in their 2025 Civil War Top Ten list of books. Amazing to make a list like that and be in such great company (including, appropriately, a battlefield archaeology title)😊 cwba.blogspot.com/2026/01/2025...
Many thanks to @catbateson.bsky.social for her very genorous review of Green & Blue in the Journal of Military History!
Damian Shiels has another glowing review for "Green & Blue: Irish Americans in the Union Military, 1861-1865," this one from the Journal of Military History!
📗📘: https://bit.ly/shielsgreenandblue
📗📘: https://bit.ly/shielsgreenandblue
January 24, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Many thanks to @catbateson.bsky.social for her very genorous review of Green & Blue in the Journal of Military History!
Note attached to the last letters Kate Butler of Dungarvan received from her son, who died in Samoa, requesting they be returned when the U.S. Pension Bureau was finished. They never were. Kate is one of the pensioners on the Yankee Pensioners in Ireland Map: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4e3d...
January 17, 2026 at 10:18 AM
Note attached to the last letters Kate Butler of Dungarvan received from her son, who died in Samoa, requesting they be returned when the U.S. Pension Bureau was finished. They never were. Kate is one of the pensioners on the Yankee Pensioners in Ireland Map: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4e3d...
Looking forward to kikcing off our three-part lecture series on the 1916 Rising this evening with Tuatha! Tonight we are looking at the background to the revolutionary movement, going back as far as 1798 -and yes, the American Civil War even gets a (brief!) mention :-)
So excited to start our new three-part lecture series on Understanding the Places, People & Politics of the 1916 Rising with Dr Damian Shiels!
The opening session is on this evening, and looks at the context of the Rising.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm #IrishHistory
The opening session is on this evening, and looks at the context of the Rising.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm #IrishHistory
January 15, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Looking forward to kikcing off our three-part lecture series on the 1916 Rising this evening with Tuatha! Tonight we are looking at the background to the revolutionary movement, going back as far as 1798 -and yes, the American Civil War even gets a (brief!) mention :-)
I recently discussed "Green & Blue", Irish Americans in the Civil War and a few other topics on the Public History with Justin, Jake & Molly Podcast. For anyone interested you can catch the episode here: wynninghistory.com/2026/01/12/p...
Irish Americans in the Civil War | Public History Podcast
A podcast conversation with historian Damien Shiels on Irish Americans in the Union Army—moving beyond the Irish Brigade to class, wages, pensions, and Civil War memory.
wynninghistory.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:41 PM
I recently discussed "Green & Blue", Irish Americans in the Civil War and a few other topics on the Public History with Justin, Jake & Molly Podcast. For anyone interested you can catch the episode here: wynninghistory.com/2026/01/12/p...
Thanks to Radio Kerry for having me on earlier today to discuss 19th century American Pensioners in Co. Kerry featured on my new Interactive Map. For those interested you can listen back here: www.radiokerry.ie/podcasts/ker...
Kerry’s Yankee Pensioners – January 7th, 2026 | RadioKerry.ie
Jerry spoke to Damien Shiels, historian, archaeologist and curator who has created an interactive map of over 700 Irish people who received pensions based on US...
www.radiokerry.ie
January 7, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Thanks to Radio Kerry for having me on earlier today to discuss 19th century American Pensioners in Co. Kerry featured on my new Interactive Map. For those interested you can listen back here: www.radiokerry.ie/podcasts/ker...
Reposted by Damian Shiels
The Irish Examiner have a piece covering my US Pensioners in Ireland Interactive Map that shares some of their stories and images relating to them. You can read it below, thanks to Sean O'Riordan for covering it! www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41...
Meet the Irish soldiers who fought in America's bloodiest battles
A new interactive map details the pensions awarded by the American government to Irish soldiers who fought in some of that country's biggest military campaigns — including the American Civil War, Cust...
www.irishexaminer.com
December 30, 2025 at 7:30 PM
The Irish Examiner have a piece covering my US Pensioners in Ireland Interactive Map that shares some of their stories and images relating to them. You can read it below, thanks to Sean O'Riordan for covering it! www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41...
Reposted by Damian Shiels
Here I am on the radio! Talking to @mylesdungan.bsky.social about “From Crown to Harp” on the History Show… www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...
From Crown To Harp: How The Anglo-Irish Treaty Was Undone 1920-49
David McCullagh on how Ireland quietly dismantled the Anglo-Irish Treaty - a peaceful revolution that transformed the Irish Free State into the Republic of Ireland.
www.rte.ie
December 23, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Here I am on the radio! Talking to @mylesdungan.bsky.social about “From Crown to Harp” on the History Show… www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...
Delighted to see this research from Glenmore History in Kilkenny inspired by one of the local US Pensioners (Margaret Quinn) I identifed. One of the types of engagement I was hoping the interactive map would create where a local community has dug into the story: glenmore-history.com/tag/damian-s...
Damian Shiels American Pensioners in Ireland - Glenmore History
glenmore-history.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Delighted to see this research from Glenmore History in Kilkenny inspired by one of the local US Pensioners (Margaret Quinn) I identifed. One of the types of engagement I was hoping the interactive map would create where a local community has dug into the story: glenmore-history.com/tag/damian-s...
The National Library of Ireland have received a donation of letters from a Donegal family on both sides of the Atlantic many of which deal with the American Civil War. No surprise a Pennsylvania Regiment features! highlandradio.com/2025/12/23/n...
National Library of Ireland acquires historical letters from Donegal - Highland Radio - Latest Donegal News and Sport
The National Library of Ireland have acquired letters from a Donegal family dating back to the 1860s. The correspondence is mainly from Neal and Cornelius McMonagle who emigrated to the United States ...
highlandradio.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:10 AM
The National Library of Ireland have received a donation of letters from a Donegal family on both sides of the Atlantic many of which deal with the American Civil War. No surprise a Pennsylvania Regiment features! highlandradio.com/2025/12/23/n...
Reposted by Damian Shiels
Nice to see that Age of Atrocity, which I edited with David Edwards and Pádraig Lenihan, is being reprinted by Four Courts Press. It will be available just in time for Valentine's Day next year! www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/archiv...
Four Courts Press | Age of atrocity
Violence and political conflict in early modern Ireland by David Edwards, Clodagh Tait & Padraig Lenihan, editors
www.fourcourtspress.ie
December 19, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Nice to see that Age of Atrocity, which I edited with David Edwards and Pádraig Lenihan, is being reprinted by Four Courts Press. It will be available just in time for Valentine's Day next year! www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/archiv...
For anyone looking for a late Christmas present, LSU Press are offering a 40% discount on their books for the next couple of days using the code SAVE40LSU. In my experience loved ones love nothing more than hearing about the Irish experience of the American Civil War 😁
lsupress.org/978080718370...
lsupress.org/978080718370...
Green and Blue
Damian Shiels’s Green and Blue explores Irish American service in the United States military by analyzing the written correspondence of ordinary rank-and-f...
lsupress.org
December 13, 2025 at 5:20 PM
For anyone looking for a late Christmas present, LSU Press are offering a 40% discount on their books for the next couple of days using the code SAVE40LSU. In my experience loved ones love nothing more than hearing about the Irish experience of the American Civil War 😁
lsupress.org/978080718370...
lsupress.org/978080718370...
Our "Yankee Pensioners in Ireland c. 1845-1905" Map is at 4,500 interactions already! It is just updated with our first user addition, locating a pensioner in Ballinrooaun, Galway. A Civil War widow's pension was being paid there until 1958! You can view it here: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4e3d...
Yankee Pensioners in Ireland 1845-1905: An Interactive Map
An interactive map with biographical info and addresses of 700+ women, men and children who received U.S. pensions in 19th century Ireland.
storymaps.arcgis.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Our "Yankee Pensioners in Ireland c. 1845-1905" Map is at 4,500 interactions already! It is just updated with our first user addition, locating a pensioner in Ballinrooaun, Galway. A Civil War widow's pension was being paid there until 1958! You can view it here: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4e3d...
Reposted by Damian Shiels
My new book, 'The Fenian Empire: A Hemispheric History of Irish Republican Nationalism' is now live in the NYU Press catalogue and due for release in early June, fittingly on the 160th anniversary of the first major Fenian raid on Canada
nyupress.org/978147983258...
nyupress.org/978147983258...
The Fenian Empire
A bold new exploration of Fenian revolutionary activity across the AmericasIn the aftermath of the American Civil War, the Fenian movement stood at a crossro...
nyupress.org
December 8, 2025 at 4:36 PM
My new book, 'The Fenian Empire: A Hemispheric History of Irish Republican Nationalism' is now live in the NYU Press catalogue and due for release in early June, fittingly on the 160th anniversary of the first major Fenian raid on Canada
nyupress.org/978147983258...
nyupress.org/978147983258...
Finland bound after a fleeting visit to Ireland. A bit of history and archaeology mixed in, caught up with Annie Moore and the Lusitania Memorial in Cobh and a quick stop on familiar ground in Béal na Bláth.
December 9, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Finland bound after a fleeting visit to Ireland. A bit of history and archaeology mixed in, caught up with Annie Moore and the Lusitania Memorial in Cobh and a quick stop on familiar ground in Béal na Bláth.
The new episode of Transatlantic is live! We chat with Terry Golway about the long history of Tammany Hall. Why was it so tied to Irish America, and why does popular memory link them so heavily to corruption? We also explore the overlooked good the organisation did: shows.acast.com/transatlanti...
Tammany Hall: The Irish Political Machine in New York | Transatlantic: An Irish American History Podcast
shows.acast.com
December 8, 2025 at 6:59 PM
The new episode of Transatlantic is live! We chat with Terry Golway about the long history of Tammany Hall. Why was it so tied to Irish America, and why does popular memory link them so heavily to corruption? We also explore the overlooked good the organisation did: shows.acast.com/transatlanti...
Thanks to the Roscommon Herald for covering some of my work on the Irish in the American Civil War: www.roscommonherald.ie/news/roscomm...
Roscommon's American Civil War stories - News - Roscommon Herald
Roscommon's American Civil War stories - News - Roscommon Herald
www.roscommonherald.ie
December 8, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Thanks to the Roscommon Herald for covering some of my work on the Irish in the American Civil War: www.roscommonherald.ie/news/roscomm...
It's near certain the American Civil War saw more Cork men in uniform than any other conflict. That's reflected in the 19th century U.S. pensions paid out in Ireland, where Cork tops the list with almost 100 men and women identified so far. Interactive Map here: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4e3d...
December 7, 2025 at 10:11 AM
It's near certain the American Civil War saw more Cork men in uniform than any other conflict. That's reflected in the 19th century U.S. pensions paid out in Ireland, where Cork tops the list with almost 100 men and women identified so far. Interactive Map here: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4e3d...
Reposted by Damian Shiels
I popped into Hodges Figgis after our tour today for a bit of Christmas shopping, and I saw they had a little recommendation on my Wild Atlantic Way book — was so chuffed! The temptation to tell everyone walking past 😅
Such a lovely surprise!
Such a lovely surprise!
December 6, 2025 at 8:28 PM
I popped into Hodges Figgis after our tour today for a bit of Christmas shopping, and I saw they had a little recommendation on my Wild Atlantic Way book — was so chuffed! The temptation to tell everyone walking past 😅
Such a lovely surprise!
Such a lovely surprise!