Research and Publication Services
Scéal provides professional academic research of museum collections and local and national archaeology and history. We are open to commissions to produce articles, pamphlets, and books for publication for a wide range of themes and audience base. Scéal offers professional research presentation in the form of illustrated public talks and lectures, as well as the organisation and facilitation of associated public workshops and conferences.
We also provide research and consultation services for a wide range of collaborative projects, including local heritage audits and condition reports, museum sustainability and development plans, and the assessment and audit of the collections of museums and heritage centres.
Research
Professional research services dealing with concentrated publication, archive, and museum consultation for a wide range of themes across all chronological periods of archaeology and history.
Publication
Commissions accepted for the research and compilation of articles and books for professional publication. Providing an excellent standard of publication; dealing with a broad spectrum of themes for a wide range of audiences.
Presentation
Professional research presentation through public lectures and talks, and creation and facilitation of research-related workshops and special events.
Current Publication List
Academic Journal Publications
Gilligan, D. & Gorman, C. (2007) Ireland’s Largest Cluster of Wedge Tombs – a matter of opinion or fact?, Trowel Volume XI.
Gilligan, D., (2014) Presenting the Past: Evaluating archaeological exhibitions in museums in the Republic of Ireland, Museum Ireland Vol. 24
Gilligan, D. (2015) Faces from the Past: Two carved stone heads from Ballydawley, Co. Sligo, and their place in the Irish context of the stone head tradition, Sligo Field Club Journal Vol. 1
Gilligan, D. (2015) Excavating a mythological landscape: The 1931 amateur excavation of Sheebeg cairn in South County Leitrim, Breifne – Journal of Cumann Seanchais Breifne (Breifne Historical Society), Vol. 50
Gilligan, D. (2016) A Curious Crock – a copper alloy vessel from a possible coin hoard found at Sheemore Hill, Co. Leitrim, Breifne – Journal of Cumann Seanchais Breifne (Breifne Historical Society), Vol. 51
Gilligan, D. (2016) “Found on the battlefield of Moytura” – a note on a polished stone axehead from Co. Sligo and its mythological associations, Sligo Field Club Journal Vol. 2
Gilligan, D. (2017) Enchantment in the walls: The use of a concealed bronze spearhead as a protective charm at a house in Corglass, Co. Leitrim, Breifne – Journal of Cumann Seanchais Breifne (Breifne Historical Society), Vol. 52
Book Contributions & Publications
Gilligan, D. (2016) “The Alfie Byrne Commemorative Chocolate Box”, in Godson, L. (Ed.) The Secret Life of Objects: Stories of Design from Dublin, The Little Museum of Dublin Press, Dublin.
Gilligan, D. (2019) “Above and below ground – Traces of life and death in prehistoric Leitrim”, Scott, B., & Kelly, L. (Eds) (2019) Leitrim History and Society, Geography Publications.
Gilligan, D. (2020) “Helped by a honeybird, clothed in catskins, and swallowed by a whale: Exploring the Irish variants of the Cinderella tale”, Weedon, A. & Darwood, N. (Ed.) (2020) Retelling Cinderella: Cultural and Creative Transformations, Cambridge Scholars Press.
Gilligan, D. (2021) “Commemorating a missing history: Tracing the visual and material culture of the Irish women’s suffrage campaign, 1908 – 1918”, Frawley, O. (Ed.) (2020) Women and the Decade of Commemorations, Indiana University Press.
National press publications & media
Map Irish Design: Decade of Centenaries; http://new.100archive.com/article/decade-of-centenaries
Conference and Presentation Papers
Gilligan, D. (April 2015) Showing the Whole Story – Presenting the Work of the Archaeologist in the Irish Museum Exhibition, Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI) 2015 Institutional Conference, Armagh.
Gilligan, D. (April 2015) Chocolate, Celebrity and Commerce in 1930’s Dublin: The Hidden Secrets of the Alfie Byrne commemorative chocolate box, “The Secret Lives of Objects” Exhibition & Symposium, The Little Museum of Dublin, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin.
Gilligan, D. (June 2015) Bringing the Museum into the Classroom: Introducing children to heritage conservation through the creation of school museums, Irish Museums Association (IMA) 2015 Education & Outreach Forum, National Museum of Ireland, Collin’s Barracks.
Gilligan, D. (September 2015) Excavating a mythological landscape: The 1931 amateur excavation of Sheebeg cairn, The Breifne Historical Society, Leitrim County Library, Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim.
Gilligan, D. (October 2015) Tales from the Crypt: Documentation Discoveries in the basement storage area of the National Museum, “After the Dig: Behind the Scenes at the National Museum” public outreach event, NMI Collections Resource Centre, Swords, Dublin.
Gilligan, D. (September 2016) A Missing Materiality – Tracing the invisible objects of the Irish women’s suffrage movement, Women’s History Network Conference 2016, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds.
Gilligan, D. (November 2016) Tracing the missing remnants of a revolution: The visual and material culture of the Irish suffrage campaign, “Revolutionary Genders”: Sibéal Feminist & Gender Studies Network 10th Anniversary Conference, National University of Ireland Galway.
Gilligan, D. (January 2017) Pieces of our past – Archaeological artefacts discovered in North Leitrim, Manorhamilton & District Historical Society, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim.
Gilligan, D. (April 2017) Commercialising the mourning process: Irish examples of mourning jewellery in the Victorian Gothic city, Supernatural Cities II: Gothic Cities Conference, Limerick Institute of Technology, Limerick city.
Gilligan, D. (April 2017) The picture of respectability: Viewing the Irish middle-class suffragette in contemporary images and objects, Women’s History Association of Ireland Annual Conference, National University of Ireland Galway.
Gilligan, D. (June 2017) Helped by a honeybird, clothed in catskins, and swallowed by a whale: Two Irish variants of the Cinderella tale, All about Cinderella: retellings in the cultural imagination Conference, University of Bedfordshire, Luton, England.
Gilligan, D. (June 2017) Colleens, ‘Celtic’ women, and College graduates – the national and visual imagery of the Irish suffragists abroad, Women on Ireland Research Network Conference, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford city.
Gilligan, D. (February 2018) The Imagery of Independence: National symbols and representations used by the Irish suffragists at home and abroad, Conference to commemorate the Centenary of the 1918 Reform Act, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge.
Gilligan, D. (March 2018) The Power of The Past: A case study of the apotropaic use of archaeological artefacts in Ireland, Remarkable Things: The Agency of Objecthood and the Power of Materiality – A One Day Interdisciplinary Conference, The University of Warwick.
Gilligan, D. (April 2018) Re-materialising a Revolution: tracing the objects and imagery of the Irish Women’s Suffrage Movement, Vótáíl 100 Roscommon Commemorative Programme, King House, Boyle.
Gilligan, D. (August 2018) 100 Years on: Women Creating Change, Waterford Walls Festival. Invited speaker at public event to commemorate the centenary of Irish women’s suffrage, and to discuss stories of creative women 100 years ago, who fought for change through creative thinking.
Gilligan, D. (September 2018) A missing materiality: The visual and material culture of the Irish women’s suffrage movement, 1908–1918, National Independence and Women’s Suffrage in Poland and Ireland, Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College, Dublin
Gilligan, D. (September 2018) Shrieking Harridans, Clucking Chickens, and Respectable Ladies: Views of women’s suffrage in Irish picture postcards, “Protest through Print: Women’s Suffrage and Print Media Centenary Seminar”, National Print Museum, Dublin
Gilligan, D. (October 2018) Cailíns, Celtic Women, and College Graduates: The visual imagery of the Irish suffragists at home and abroad, Lá Stair na Mná/Women’s History Day, Galway City Council. Harbour Hotel, Galway city.
Gilligan, D. (November 2018) A Missing History? Tracing the Objects and Images of the Irish Women’s Suffrage Campaign, Galway Libraries “Women of the West” Event (Westside & Tuam Libraries)
Gilligan, D. (November 2018) A Missing History? Tracing the Objects and Images of the Irish Women’s Suffrage Campaign, Greystones Archaeological & Historical Society, Greystones, Co. Wicklow.
Gilligan, D. (November 2018) Art and the Vote: The images of the Irish suffrage campaign, Athlone Castle Visitor Centre, Co. Westmeath
Gilligan, D. (November 2018) A Missing History? Tracing the Objects and Images of the Irish Women’s Suffrage Campaign, “Deeds not Words? Assessing a Century of Change” conference at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins’ Barracks, Dublin.
Gilligan, D. (February 2019) Witnesses to “the ruin of our Western civilisation”: objects and images of the Irish suffrage campaign, 1908 – 1918, Irish Women’s Writing (1880 – 1920) Network, Femfest Network Seminar, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.
Gilligan, D. (May 2019) Surviving objects of the Irish women’s suffrage movement, North Leitrim Women’s Centre and Manorhamilton & District Historical Society, The Glens Arts Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim.
Gilligan, D. (October 2019) Objects & Images of the Irish Women’s Suffrage Movement, Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum Autumn Talks Programme, Lisburn, Co. Antrim.
Gilligan, D. (September 2020) Finding Fionn Mac Cumhail: The Mythology and Archaeology of the 1931 Sheebeg Excavation, Living in A Leitrim Landscape Talk Series, The Dock Arts Centre, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim (Online presentation due to Covid 19) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWzOrN_7xYw
Gilligan, D. (February 2021) Reclaiming the Past: The Appeal and Endurance of Reproduction Irish Archaeological Jewellery in the Twentieth Century, “Fashion and Clothing Cultures in and of Ireland: A Webinar” (online conference), https://www.fashionandclothingculturesinandofirelandawebinar.com/webinar-schedule-and-links
Scéal Heritage Consultancy 