Mary Elizabeth Daly, is an Irish historian and academic. She is

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of Modern Irish History at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

. From 2014 to 2017, she served as the President of the Royal Irish Academy.

Academic career

Daly studied history and economics at

(UCD), graduating in 1969 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(BA) degree. She remained at UCD to attain a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA) degree in history, which she completed in 1971. She undertook postgraduate studies at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, completing her

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(DPhil) degree in 1978. Her

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was titled "Government Policy and the Depressed Areas in the Inter-War Years". Since 1970, Daly has held teaching and research positions within University College Dublin. She was promoted to

of Modern Irish History in 2006. Since 2008, Daly has been the deputy chair of

Higher Education Authority __NOTOC__ The Higher Education Authority (HEA), officially An tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas, is the statutory body providing policy advice for higher education in Ireland. Description and functions The HEA was established under the Higher Educat ...

. She has been a Commissioner of the

Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation The Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation (officially the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters) was a judicial commission of investigation, established in 2015 by the Irish government ...

since its establishment in 2015. From 2014 to 2017, she served as the President of the Royal Irish Academy, the first woman to hold this role.

Honours

In 1991, Daly was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA). In May 2021 Daly was awarded the Academy Gold Medal in the Humanities.

Selected works

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References

Living people 20th-century Irish historians 21st-century Irish historians Irish women non-fiction writers Women historians Academics of University College Dublin Presidents of the Royal Irish Academy 21st-century Irish women writers 20th-century Irish women writers Year of birth missing (living people) {{Mother and baby homes in Ireland