A.C. Elias Research Travel Fellowship
The A.C. Elias Ireland/North America Research Travel Fellowship provides up to $2,500 in funding to support “documentary scholarship on Ireland in the period between the Treaty of Limerick (1691) and the Act of Union (1800).”
It enables North American-based scholars to travel to Ireland and Irish-based scholars to travel to North America.
Projects conducting original research on any aspect of eighteenth-century Ireland qualify for consideration, but recipients must be either (1) members of ASECS who have permanent residence in the United States or Canada, or (2) be members of its sister organization, The Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society (ECIS) who are resident in Ireland.
The A.C. Elias Ireland/North America Research Travel Fellowship honours the contribution to scholarship of the late Dr A.C. Elias, Jr., an independent scholar from Philadelphia.
Announcement of the 2025 winner
The American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS) has awarded the A.C. Elias Ireland/North America Research Travel Fellowship for 2025 to Dr Keith Ó Riain of Mary Immaculate College.
The fellowship will assist Dr. Ó Riain in conducting textual research at the Huntington Library in California necessary for his edition of the Irish-language poet Éadbhard de Nógla (c. 1715-85). This will be the first critical edition of De Nógla’s poetry and contribute to our knowledge of eighteenth-century Irish-language poetry, and to the ‘broader political, religious, and social attitudes, beliefs, and outlooks that the poetry gives voice to.’
How to apply for the 2026 Fellowship
Applications for the 2026 A.C. Elias Ireland/North America Research Travel Fellowship are due before midnight (Eastern Daylight Time, i.e. GMT -4) on 15 November 2025 to the fellowship’s two trustees. These are:
- Jason McElligott, Director, Marsh’s Library, St. Patrick’s Close, Dublin 8, Ireland (jason.mcelligott@marshlibrary.ie) and
- James May 1423 Hillcrest Road, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603, USA (jem4@psu.edu).
Applicants must submit in one document, in either Word or PDF format:
- A covering letter with the applicant’s postal and email addresses, as well as the name of the Society to which the applicant belongs: i.e., either ASECS or ECIS.
- a short curriculum vitae (no more than 3 pp.)
- a project description (3 pp. or less, describing the work to be done during the proposed research and its potential contribution to the field)
- a one-page bibliography of related books & articles
- an outline budget for the research trip
External Referees
In addition, applicants must ensure that signed letters of recommendation from two referees are sent by email as PDFs to both trustees of the fellowship, Dr May and Dr McElligott. If the letters cannot be supplied as PDFs, an original copy should be posted to one of the trustees.
Deadline for the 2026 Fellowship
The deadline for receipt of both the application and the two letters of reference is midnight (Eastern Daylight Time, i.e. GMT -4) on 15 November 2025.
