Two professors at NUIG have been named to the prestigious Royal Irish Academy for their contributions to the humanities and social sciences.
Dr Alison Forrestal, Lecturer in History and Professor Paolo Bartoloni, Professor of Italian, were elected as members of the Royal Irish Academy at a special admittance ceremony recently in Dublin.
Dr Forrestal and Professor Bartoloni are two of 27 new Members of the RIA elected for their exceptional contribution to the sciences, humanities and social sciences as well as to public service.
Other Irish academics who joined them in this election include Nobel Laureate John O’Keefe, Diarmaid Ferriter of UCD, and Olivia O’Leary of RTÉ.
Congratulating the two academics on their elevation, President of NUIG Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, said “On behalf of colleagues at NUI Galway, I extend warmest congratulations to Alison and Paolo on their election to membership of the Royal Irish Academy.”
“This recognises the immense and continuing contribution which they make to their respective academic fields of history and Italian literature.”
“As educators, researchers and as academic leaders at NUI Galway, they demonstrate personal talent and commitment to the advancement of humanities and social sciences research, nationally and internationally.”
The Royal Irish Academy is Ireland’s leading body of experts in the sciences and humanities.
The Academy has been honouring Ireland’s leading contributors to the world of learning since its establishment in 1785.
Past Members have included Maria Edgeworth, a pioneer of the modern novel and Nobel laureates: WB Yeats; Ernest Walton, Erwin Schrödinger and Seamus Heaney.
Dr Alison Forrestal is a leading authority on the history of early modern Christianity, with a particular focus on the histories of France and Ireland.
Among her works is the ground-breaking Vincent de Paul, the Lazarist Mission, and French Catholic Reform, an acclaimed study of the charitable and missionary enterprises associated with Vincent de Paul.
Paolo Bartoloni is Established Professor of Italian at NUI Galway who previously taught at the University of Sydney where he founded the program in International and Comparative Literary Studies.
He is a leading international scholar in the areas of domparative literature, translation studies, contemporary philosophy and Italian cultural history.
His latest book Objects in Italian Life and Culture: Fiction, Migration and Artificiality covers a significant gap in ‘object theory’ with its new take on the relation between objects and humans.
Welcoming the two to the fold, President of the Royal Irish Academy Prof Peter Kennedy said “These individuals have made exceptional contributions in their fields of endeavour. We are delighted to recognise their achievements.”
