Dr Michael Potterton

History

Lecturer

Rhetoric House
1st
37
(01) 7083410

Biography

Dr Michael Potterton’s core field of research is the history and archaeology of medieval Ireland, with special reference to landscape and settlement – urban, rural and hinterlands. He has established an international reputation as an innovative researcher, a dynamic teacher and an accomplished writer and editor. He has published eleven books (as author, co-author or co-editor), presented cutting-edge research in nine countries, received twelve competitively awarded scholarships and grants and organised a dozen fully booked conferences. He has designed, coordinated, taught and examined over twenty different undergraduate and postgraduate courses at five universities in three countries (MU, NUIG, UCD, Sorbonne, University of Toronto). He has also given guest lectures at QUB, TCD, the University of Wales at Lampeter, East Carolina University, Appalachian State University and Wellington College (UK).

From 1996 to 1998 Michael was the Assistant Director on the multi-period research excavations at Moynagh Lough, Co. Meath. Between 2005 and 2008 he spent over forty weeks training more than 150 students from fifteen countries on the archaeological excavation at the medieval castle site in Tulsk, Co. Roscommon. Michael is on the Academic Committee of the Irish Archaeological Field School and is a guest lecturer on East Carolina University’s annual study abroad programme in Wicklow.

Michael did his PhD at Maynooth. His doctoral research on medieval Trim, Co. Meath, epitomises his belief in the importance of grassroots local studies, but set firmly within an international context. Combining historical, archaeological and architectural analyses, the thesis and subsequent book (2005) demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of his work. For seven years as a Senior Research Archaeologist with the Discovery Programme – Ireland’s institution for advanced archaeological research – Michael worked closely with other historians, archaeologists, geographers and palaeo-environmentalists on the Medieval Rural Settlement Project. One of the groundbreaking products of this approach is the 600-page Dublin Region in the Middle Ages (Murphy & Potterton, 2010), a rigorously peer-reviewed volume championed as a model for future hinterland studies internationally. Michael has presented on the results of these projects at conferences all over Ireland as well as in Britain, Hungary, France, Switzerland, Canada and the US.

In 2005 Christiaan Corlett of the National Monuments Service and Michael initiated a project to facilitate the dissemination of the results of recent archaeological excavations in Ireland, via focused conferences and high-quality publications. The project is unique in terms of both its concept and its range; it covers sites from all parts of the island and from all periods of the country’s c.10,000 years of human occupation. They have published five volumes in the series and are currently working on the sixth, Towns in Medieval Ireland.

In 2007, together with Thomas Herron (North Carolina), Michael edited the multidisciplinary collection Ireland in the Renaissance, c.1540–1660 and in 2011 they collaborated on a follow-up volume, Dublin and the Pale in the Renaissance. In 2008, with archaeologist Matthew Seaver, Michael coordinated the ‘Uncovering Medieval Trim’ project. A conference showcased the results of recent excavations, and a subsequent book (Uncovering Medieval Trim, 2009) put the information on permanent record.

Michael is a board member of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas and a committee member of the International Commission for the History of Towns. He is on the Editorial Board of the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy and is an academic advisor to various initiatives including the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site Research Framework, the Trim Town Walls Conservation Plan, the Blackfriary Archaeology Field School and the INSTAR Mapping Death Project. For eight years he was a Council Member of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (RSAI) and in 2006 he became Reviews Editor of The Journal of the American Society of Irish Medieval Studies. From 2005 to 2009 he was editor of The European Archaeologist, a web-based international newsletter for the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA). As an EAA Board Member, he represented Ireland at meetings in Croatia, Malta and the Czech Republic.

From 2009 to 2015 Michael was employed as Editor (and then Senior Editor) with Four Courts Press, Ireland’s multi-award-winning and leading academic publisher. In addition to managing almost one hundred books through the publication process, Michael’s responsibilities at Four Courts included coordinating peer-review, managing funding applications and advising recently graduated PhD students on how best to convert their theses to books.

In addition to an NUI Studentship and an Irish Research Council PhD Scholarship, Michael has received ten significant grants from the Heritage Council, the Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht, and the RSAI/Bevir Trust. The projects mentioned above (Renaissance, Recent Excavations and Uncovering Medieval Trim) have attracted funding of over €75,000 from bodies including the OPW, the County Meath Heritage Plan, INSTAR, TRIARC and the National Roads Authority, as well as collaborating institutions in the US.

Michael is an ambitious and versatile Maynooth graduate with an international research profile, a proven track record in teaching and a distinguished portfolio of publications and awards. While his research is firmly rooted in Ireland, it is of international significance and set within a global context.

In 2011 Michael was honoured by being elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in recognition of his ‘major contribution to the study of medieval Ireland through teaching on excavations and at universities in Ireland and abroad, and work as author and editor’.

If any students – past, current or prospective – have any interest in or questions about any of the items mentioned above, please feel free to contact Michael at michael.l.potterton@mu.ie.

Research Interests

Michael Potterton specialises in the archaeology and history of Ireland from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, especially urban and rural landscapes, settlement and society. Further research interests include hinterlands, crannogs, contacts between Ireland and the Continent, and the archaeology of Ireland form prehistory to the present.

Books

  Year Publication
2010 The Dublin region in the Middle Ages: settlement, land-use and economy.
Michael Potterton and Margaret Murphy (2010) The Dublin region in the Middle Ages: settlement, land-use and economy. Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
2005 Medieval Trim: history and archaeology.
Michael Potterton (2005) Medieval Trim: history and archaeology. Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]

Edited Books

  Year Publication
2017 William Marshal and Ireland
Michael Potterton, John Bradley and Cóilín Ó Drisceoil (Ed.). (2017) William Marshal and Ireland Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
2014 The church in early medieval Ireland in the light of recent archaeological excavations
Michael Potterton and Christiaan Corlett (Ed.). (2014) The church in early medieval Ireland in the light of recent archaeological excavations Dublin: Wordwell. [Details]
2012 Life and death in Iron Age Ireland in the light of recent archaeological excavations
Michael Potterton and Christiaan Corlett (Ed.). (2012) Life and death in Iron Age Ireland in the light of recent archaeological excavations Bray: Wordwell. [Details]
2011 Dublin and the Pale in the Renaissance, c.1540–1660
Michael Potterton and Thomas Herron (Ed.). (2011) Dublin and the Pale in the Renaissance, c.1540–1660 Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
2011 Settlement in early medieval Ireland in the light of recent archaeological excavations
Michael Potterton and Christiaan Corlett (Ed.). (2011) Settlement in early medieval Ireland in the light of recent archaeological excavations Bray: Wordwell. [Details]
2010 Death and burial in early medieval Ireland in the light of recent archaeological excvations
Michael Potterton and Christiaan Corlett (Ed.). (2010) Death and burial in early medieval Ireland in the light of recent archaeological excvations Bray: Wordwell. [Details]
2009 Rural settlement in medieval Ireland in the light of recent archaeological excavations
Michael Potterton and Christiaan Corlett (Ed.). (2009) Rural settlement in medieval Ireland in the light of recent archaeological excavations Bray: Wordwell. [Details]
2009 Uncovering medieval Trim: recent archaeological excavations in and around Trim, Co. Meath
Michael Potterton and Matthew Seaver (Ed.). (2009) Uncovering medieval Trim: recent archaeological excavations in and around Trim, Co. Meath Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
2007 Ireland in the Renaissance, c.1540–1660
Michael Potterton and Thomas Herron (Ed.). (2007) Ireland in the Renaissance, c.1540–1660 Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
2013 'Agriculture in the Tara/Skreen region, c.AD1170–1660'
Michael Potterton and Margaret Murphy (2013) 'Agriculture in the Tara/Skreen region, c.AD1170–1660' In: Tara: from the past to the future. Towards a new research agenda. Dublin: Wordwell. [Details]
2011 'The FitzGeralds, Florence, St Fiachra and a few fragments'
Michael Potterton (2011) 'The FitzGeralds, Florence, St Fiachra and a few fragments' In: Michael Potterton and Thomas Herron (eds). Dublin and the Pale in the Renaissance, c.1540–1660. Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
2009 'Understanding Trim through the ages'
Michael Potterton (2009) 'Understanding Trim through the ages' In: Michael Potterton and Matthew Seaver (eds). Uncovering medieval Trim: recent archaeological excavations in and around Trim, Co. Meath. Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
2009 'Mapping a medieval landscape? The Civil Survey and land-use in medieval Dublin'
Michael Potterton and Margaret Murphy (2009) 'Mapping a medieval landscape? The Civil Survey and land-use in medieval Dublin' In: John Bradley, Alan Fletcher and Anngret Simms (eds). Dublin in the medieval world: studies in honour of Howard B. Clarke. Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
2005 'Investigating living standards in the medieval Dublin region'
Michael Potterton and Margaret Murphy (2005) 'Investigating living standards in the medieval Dublin region' In: Seán Duffy (eds). Medieval Dublin VI: proceedings of the Friends of Medieval Dublin Symposium, 2004. Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
2002 'The lordship of Meath and the liberty of Trim, Ireland, 1172–1425'
Michael Potterton (2002) 'The lordship of Meath and the liberty of Trim, Ireland, 1172–1425' In: Guido Helmig, Barbara Scholkmann and Matthias Untermann (eds). Medieval Europe: centre, region, periphery. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Medieval and Later Archaeology, Basel 2002. Basel: Verlag DR G. Wesselkamp. [Details]

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
2009 'Review of An archaeology of southwest Ireland (by Colin Breen)'
Michael Potterton (2009) 'Review of An archaeology of southwest Ireland (by Colin Breen)'. Landscape History, 30 :105-105 [Details]
2008 'Review of Irish walled towns (by John Givens)'
Michael Potterton (2008) 'Review of Irish walled towns (by John Givens)'. Irish Arts Review (2002-), 25 (3):144-145 [Details]
2006 'Review of Cambridge and its economic region, 1450–1560 (by John S. Lee)'
Michael Potterton (2006) 'Review of Cambridge and its economic region, 1450–1560 (by John S. Lee)'. Journal of Economic History, 66 (3):829-830 [Details]
2006 'Review article on Trim: Irish Historic Towns Atlas, no. 14 (by Mark Hennessy)'
Michael Potterton (2006) 'Review article on Trim: Irish Historic Towns Atlas, no. 14 (by Mark Hennessy)'. Ríocht Na Midhe, Records of the Meath Archaeological and Historical Society, 17 :332-337 [Details]
2002 'Reviews of Kilkenny: Irish Historic Town Atlas, no. 10 (by John Bradley) and Discover Kilkenny (by John Bradley)'
Michael Potterton (2002) 'Reviews of Kilkenny: Irish Historic Town Atlas, no. 10 (by John Bradley) and Discover Kilkenny (by John Bradley)'. Irish Arts Review (2002-), 18 (2002):192-193 [Details]

Other Journals

  Year Publication
2013 'French connections in late medieval Ireland: the case of Geoffrey de Geneville (c.1226–1314)'
Michael Potterton (2013) 'French connections in late medieval Ireland: the case of Geoffrey de Geneville (c.1226–1314)' Explorations in Renaissance Culture, 39 (2) :53-75. [Details]
2005 'Feeding Dublin: investigating the hinterland of Dublin in the medieval period'
Michael Potterton and Margaret Murphy (2005) 'Feeding Dublin: investigating the hinterland of Dublin in the medieval period' Heritage Outlook, Winter 2005/spring 2006 :13-13. [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
2017 Archaeology Ireland Conference.
Michael Potterton (2017) Archaeology Ireland Conference. [Oral Presentation], Trowelling back the years: what has archaeology taught us about medieval Trim?, Dublin Castle [Details]
2017 Archaeological Institute of America and Cultural Tourism Ireland.
Michael Potterton (2017) Archaeological Institute of America and Cultural Tourism Ireland. [Oral Presentation], Feeding medieval Dublin: the hinterland of Ireland’s capital, Trim, Co. Meath [Details]
2017 Illuminating Heritage Seminar.
Michael Potterton (2017) Illuminating Heritage Seminar. [Oral Presentation], Urban defences in medieval Ireland, Athy Heritage Centre Museum, Co. Kildare [Details]
2017 Kilbarron Terryglass Historical Society.
Michael Potterton (2017) Kilbarron Terryglass Historical Society. [Oral Presentation], Anglo-Norman castles in Ireland, Terryglass Hall, Co. Tipperary [Details]
2017 Department of History Postgraduate Seminar.
Michael Potterton (2017) Department of History Postgraduate Seminar. [Oral Presentation], Unearthing the past: archaeological excavations at Moynagh Lough, Co. Meath, Maynooth University [Details]
2016 Irish Historic Towns Atlas seminar.
Michael Potterton and Brian Ayers (2016) Irish Historic Towns Atlas seminar. [Oral Presentation], The church in two regional capitals: Kilkenny and Norwich, Royal Irish Academy, Dublin [Details]
2016 County Kildare Archaeological Society.
Michael Potterton (2016) County Kildare Archaeological Society. [Oral Presentation], Town development in Ireland under the Anglo-Normans, Kilcullen Heritage Centre, Co. Kildare [Details]
2016 Slattery Lecture Series.
Michael Potterton (2016) Slattery Lecture Series. [Oral Presentation], The monastic town in Ireland: fact or fiction?, Carlow College, Co. Carlow [Details]
2015 Department of History Postgraduate Seminar.
Michael Potterton (2015) Department of History Postgraduate Seminar. [Oral Presentation], Feeding the city: Dublin and its hinterland in the Middle Ages, Maynooth University [Details]
2014 Irish Archaeological Field School.
Michael Potterton (2014) Irish Archaeological Field School. [Oral Presentation], Looking back on medieval Trim, Trim, Co. Meath [Details]
2014 Mortimer Society (UK).
Michael Potterton (2014) Mortimer Society (UK). [Oral Presentation], Trim in international context: the medieval Mortimers, Dublin [Details]
2013 Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement.
Michael Potterton (2013) Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement. [Keynote Address], Caput: the rise and fall of medieval Trim, Co. Meath, Trim, Co. Meath [Details]
2012 French Across Borders (1200–1600): cultural and political exchanges.
Michael Potterton (2012) French Across Borders (1200–1600): cultural and political exchanges. [Oral Presentation], Staying in Trim: Geoffrey de Geneville (c.1226–1314) and French connections in late medieval Ireland, East Carolina University, North Carolina, USA [Details]
2012 Space and Settlement in the Middle Ages conference.
Michael Potterton (2012) Space and Settlement in the Middle Ages conference. [Oral Presentation], Verging on a Renaissance? Contact between Ireland and the Continent in the sixteenth century, Trinity College Dublin [Details]
2012 UCD Archaeology Postgraduate Seminar.
Michael Potterton (2012) UCD Archaeology Postgraduate Seminar. [Oral Presentation], Discovering Dublin – the medieval city and its hinterland: archaeological evidence, University College Dublin [Details]
2011 UCD Archaeology Society.
Michael Potterton (2011) UCD Archaeology Society. [Oral Presentation], Feeding the city: Dublin and its hinterland in the Middle Ages, University College Dublin [Details]
2011 Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland/National Roads Authority forum on Communicating Archaeology.
Michael Potterton (2011) Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland/National Roads Authority forum on Communicating Archaeology. [Oral Presentation], Communicating archaeology: printed publications, Galway [Details]
2010 Lismullin Heritage Series.
Michael Potterton (2010) Lismullin Heritage Series. [Oral Presentation], Rural settlement in medieval Meath, Lismullin Conference Centre, Co. Meath [Details]
2010 Fingal County Council and the Discovery Programme Seminar.
Michael Potterton (2010) Fingal County Council and the Discovery Programme Seminar. [Oral Presentation], Defence and fortification in the Dublin Region, c.1170–c.1650, Malahide Castle, Co. Dublin [Details]
2010 Annual Tara Lecture Series.
Michael Potterton (2010) Annual Tara Lecture Series. [Oral Presentation], “A soil gnarled by ploughs”? Tara in AD1210, Tara, Co. Meath [Details]
2009 Tara Symposium.
Michael Potterton and Margaret Murphy (2009) Tara Symposium. [Oral Presentation], Agriculture in Tara and its hinterland, AD1200–1650, University College Dublin [Details]
2009 Archaeology Society, NUI Galway.
Michael Potterton and Michael Ann Bevivino (2009) Archaeology Society, NUI Galway. [Oral Presentation], The Mapping Death Project, NUI Galway [Details]
2009 Mapping Death Symposium.
Michael Potterton (2009) Mapping Death Symposium. [Oral Presentation], An overview of burials, religious conversion and external influences in early Ireland, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [Details]
2009 Dublin and the Pale in the Renaissance Seminar.
Michael Potterton (2009) Dublin and the Pale in the Renaissance Seminar. [Oral Presentation], The archaeology of the Pale boundary, Trinity College Dublin [Details]
2008 Dublin Medieval Society.
Michael Potterton (2008) Dublin Medieval Society. [Oral Presentation], Geoffrey de Geneville (c.1226–1314) and his career in Ireland, Trinity College Dublin [Details]
2008 Public seminar on developing a research strategy for Brú na Bóinne.
Michael Potterton (2008) Public seminar on developing a research strategy for Brú na Bóinne. [Oral Presentation], Brú na Bóinne in the medieval and post-medieval periods (to c.1700): a research agenda, Slane, Co. Meath [Details]
2008 Sixteenth-Century Society Conference.
Michael Potterton (2008) Sixteenth-Century Society Conference. [Oral Presentation], “Fensible in fastness of ditches and castles”: the archaeology of the English Pale, St Louis, Missouri, USA [Details]
2008 Mapping Death Symposium.
Michael Potterton (2008) Mapping Death Symposium. [Oral Presentation], The Mapping Death Project: summary and future directions, University College Dublin [Details]
2008 Uncovering Trim Town Seminar.
Michael Potterton (2008) Uncovering Trim Town Seminar. [Oral Presentation], Medieval Trim: the known and the unknown, Trim, Co. Meath [Details]
2008 Presentation to A-Level students.
Michael Potterton (2008) Presentation to A-Level students. [Oral Presentation], Archaeological research in the twenty-first century, Wellington College, Berkshire, UK [Details]
2007 International Medieval Congress.
Michael Potterton (2007) International Medieval Congress. [Oral Presentation], Commercial intercourse between medieval Dublin and its hinterland, University of Leeds, UK [Details]
2007 International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Michael Potterton (2007) International Congress on Medieval Studies. [Oral Presentation], Champagne Crusaders: French connections in thirteenth-century Meath, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA [Details]
2006 Annual Conference of the Society for Medieval Archaeology.
Michael Potterton and Margaret Murphy (2006) Annual Conference of the Society for Medieval Archaeology. [Oral Presentation], Settlement and society in the hinterland of medieval Dublin, Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo [Details]
2006 International Medieval Congress.
Michael Potterton (2006) International Medieval Congress. [Oral Presentation], Trim and the medieval lordship of Meath, University of Leeds, UK [Details]
2006 Cork Archaeological and Historical Society.
Michael Potterton (2006) Cork Archaeological and Historical Society. [Oral Presentation], Standards of living in medieval Dublin and its hinterland, Crawford Gallery, Cork [Details]
2006 Kilmallock Walled Towns Conference.
Michael Potterton (2006) Kilmallock Walled Towns Conference. [Oral Presentation], Town development under the Anglo-Normans, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick [Details]
2005 European Association of Archaeologists’ 11th Annual Meeting.
Michael Potterton (2005) European Association of Archaeologists’ 11th Annual Meeting. [Oral Presentation], The Dublin Module of the Discovery Programme’s Medieval Rural Settlement Project, Cork [Details]
2005 Ruralia VI: Arts and Crafts in Medieval Rural Environments.
Michael Potterton (2005) Ruralia VI: Arts and Crafts in Medieval Rural Environments. [Oral Presentation], Bone and antler as raw materials in medieval Ireland, Szentendre-Dobogókő, Hungary [Details]
2005 Archaeology Ireland conference on ‘Food, culture and identity’.
Michael Potterton and Margaret Murphy (2005) Archaeology Ireland conference on ‘Food, culture and identity’. [Oral Presentation], Feeding the city: reconstructing diet, lifestyle and health in medieval Dublin, University College Dublin [Details]
2005 East Carolina University Medieval Irish History and Archaeology Lecture Series, 2005–7.
Michael Potterton (2005) East Carolina University Medieval Irish History and Archaeology Lecture Series, 2005–7. [Oral Presentation], Early castle-building in medieval Ireland, Greenville, North Carolina, USA [Details]
2005 British Association for the Advancement of Science annual Festival of Science.
Michael Potterton (2005) British Association for the Advancement of Science annual Festival of Science. [Oral Presentation], Talking heads: learning from dead bodies, Trinity College Dublin [Details]
2005 Presentation to Medieval Studies Seminar.
Michael Potterton (2005) Presentation to Medieval Studies Seminar. [Oral Presentation], Trim Castle, Co. Meath: the historical archaeology of an Irish castle, Appalachian State University—Boone, North Carolina, USA [Details]
2004 Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Institute for the Study of Irish History and Civilisation.
Michael Potterton and Margaret Murphy (2004) Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Institute for the Study of Irish History and Civilisation. [Oral Presentation], Rural settlement in the medieval Dublin region: interdisciplinary approaches, University College Dublin [Details]
2004 International Medieval Congress.
Michael Potterton (2004) International Medieval Congress. [Oral Presentation], Pottery as evidence for interaction and trade in medieval Ireland, University of Leeds, UK [Details]
2004 Trinity College Dublin History Postgraduate Seminar.
Michael Potterton (2004) Trinity College Dublin History Postgraduate Seminar. [Oral Presentation], The medieval town and liberty of Trim, Co. Meath, Trinity College Dublin [Details]
2004 Friends of Medieval Dublin Symposium.
Michael Potterton and Margaret Murphy (2004) Friends of Medieval Dublin Symposium. [Oral Presentation], Standards of Living in the medieval Dublin region: documentary and archaeological approaches, Trinity College Dublin [Details]
2003 38th International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Michael Potterton (2003) 38th International Congress on Medieval Studies. [Oral Presentation], The castle and town of Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA [Details]
2003 New Perspectives in Celtic Archaeology.
Michael Potterton (2003) New Perspectives in Celtic Archaeology. [Oral Presentation], Feeding Dublin: recent research on the hinterland of the medieval city, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada [Details]
2002 3rd International Conference of Medieval and Later Archaeology.
Michael Potterton (2002) 3rd International Conference of Medieval and Later Archaeology. [Oral Presentation], The lordship of Meath and the liberty of Trim, Ireland, 1172–1425, Basel, Switzerland [Details]

Conference Hosted

  Year Publication
2017 ‘Towns in medieval Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At Maynooth University [25 speakers].
Michael Potterton (2017) ‘Towns in medieval Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At Maynooth University [25 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]
2016 Irish Conference of Medievalists (ICM) 30. At Maynooth University [45 speakers].
Michael Potterton, Elizabeth Boyle and Salvador Ryan (2016) Irish Conference of Medievalists (ICM) 30. At Maynooth University [45 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]
2015 ‘Town and country in medieval Ireland’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin.
Michael Potterton and Edel Bhreathnach (2015) ‘Town and country in medieval Ireland’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin. Conference Hosted [Details]
2010 ‘The church in early Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [20 speakers].
Michael Potterton and Christiaan Corlett (2010) ‘The church in early Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [20 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]
2009 ‘Dublin and the Pale in the Renaissance’. At Trinity College Dublin [21 speakers].
Michael Potterton and Thomas Herron (2009) ‘Dublin and the Pale in the Renaissance’. At Trinity College Dublin [21 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]
2008 ‘Mapping Death: people, boundaries and territories in Ireland, 1st to 8th centuries AD’. At University College Dublin [12 speakers].
Michael Potterton and Edel Bhreathnach (2008) ‘Mapping Death: people, boundaries and territories in Ireland, 1st to 8th centuries AD’. At University College Dublin [12 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]
2008 ‘Uncovering Trim Town: a conference outlining the results of a series of excavations, 1990–2008’. At the Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim, Co. Meath [10 speakers].
Michael Potterton and Matthew Seaver (2008) ‘Uncovering Trim Town: a conference outlining the results of a series of excavations, 1990–2008’. At the Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim, Co. Meath [10 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]
2007 ‘The Iron Age in Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [20 speakers].
Michael Potterton and Christiaan Corlett (2007) ‘The Iron Age in Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [20 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]
2006 ‘Settlement in early medieval Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [16 speakers].
Michael Potterton and Christiaan Corlett (2006) ‘Settlement in early medieval Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [16 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]
2005 ‘Ireland in the Renaissance’. Four panels presenting on a range of topics at the Renaissance Society of America’s annual conference, Cambridge [20 speakers].
Michael Potterton and Thomas Herron (2005) ‘Ireland in the Renaissance’. Four panels presenting on a range of topics at the Renaissance Society of America’s annual conference, Cambridge [20 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]
2005 ‘Death and burial in early medieval Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [20 speakers].
Michael Potterton and Christiaan Corlett (2005) ‘Death and burial in early medieval Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [20 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]
2005 ‘Ireland in the Renaissance: an interdisciplinary conference’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [25 speakers].
Michael Potterton and Thomas Herron (2005) ‘Ireland in the Renaissance: an interdisciplinary conference’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [25 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]
2005 ‘Medieval rural settlement in Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [17 speakers].
Michael Potterton and Christiaan Corlett (2005) ‘Medieval rural settlement in Ireland, in the light of recent archaeological excavations’. At the Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dublin [17 speakers]. Conference Hosted [Details]

Gov. Report or Document

  Year Publication
2009 Contributor.
Michael Potterton (2009) Contributor. Kilkenny: Gov. Report or Document [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2011 Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London Society of Antiquaries of London
2017 Grant for seminar on Towns in Medieval Ireland Irish Walled Towns Network
2016 Heritage grant for Moynagh Lough Excavations Project Meath County Council
2014 Grant for The church in early medieval Ireland Heritage Council of Ireland
2012 Grant for Life and death in Iron Age Ireland Heritage Council of Ireland
2011 Bevir Trust grant for Settlement in early medieval Ireland Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
2011 Environment Fund Grant for Life and death in Iron Age Ireland Government of Ireland: Dept. Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht
2010 Heritage Education and Community Outreach Grant for Settlement in early medieval Ireland Heritage Council of Ireland
2009 Unpublished Excavations Grant for Uncovering medieval Trim Heritage Council of Ireland
2009 Unpublished Excavations Grant for Rural settlement in medieval Ireland Heritage Council of Ireland
2007 Publication Grant for Ireland in the Renaissance, c.1540–1660 Heritage Council of Ireland
2005 Publication Grant for Medieval Trim: history and archaeology Heritage Council of Ireland
1999 Government of Ireland Scholarship Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences
1998 Postgraduate Studentship National University of Ireland
1994 Erasmus Scholarship University College Dublin

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
Society of Antiquaries of London Fellow 02-JAN-11 /
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Member 01-JAN-02 /
American Society of Irish Medieval Studies Member 02-JAN-06 /
Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland Member 01-JAN-03 /
Forum for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Ireland Member 01-JAN-10 /
Meath Archaeological and Historical Society Member 01-JAN-98 /

Committees

  Committee Function From / To
International Commission for the History of Towns Board Member 2018 /
Irish Historic Towns Atlas Board Member 2017 /
European Association of Archaeologists Board Member 2005 / 2010
Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Board Member 2016 /
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Council Member 2004 / 2008
Irish Archaeological Field School Committee Member 2010 /
Journal of Irish Archaeology Board Member 2005 / 2009

Employment

  Employer Position From / To
Four Courts Press Editor 01-MAY-09 / 31-AUG-15
The Discovery Programme Senior Research Archaeologist 03-FEB-03 / 30-APR-09
School of Archaeology, University College Dublin Lecturer 01-SEP-08 / 30-JUN-09
Department of Archaeology, National University of Ireland, Galway Temporary Lecturer 01-SEP-06 / 30-JUN-07
St Michael’s College, University of Toronto, Canada Visiting Professor 01-JAN-03 / 30-JUN-03
Department of History, Maynooth University Occasional Lecturer 01-SEP-98 / 31-JAN-03
Université de Paris–IV (La Sorbonne), France Temporary Lecturer 02-SEP-96 / 30-JUN-97

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
2003 National University of Ireland, Maynooth PhD History
1996 University College Dublin (NUI) BA (Int.) Archaeology & French

Languages

  Language Reading Writing Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Fluent Functional Functional

Teaching Interests

Michael Potterton currently (University Year 2017–2018) provides the following modules:
FIRST YEAR
HY121 Introduction to Medieval History: Vikings and Normans (x1 hour per week), 7.5CR core (with Dr Colmán Etchingham)
SECOND YEAR
HY224 Settlement and Society: Ireland in the Middle Ages (x2 hours per week) 5CR elective (with field trip)
HY292 Ireland in Prehistory (x2 hours per week) 5CR elective (with field trips)

THIRD YEAR
HY377 The Medieval Irish Town (x3 hours per week), 7.5CR elective (with field trips)

POSTGRADUATE
HY605 Doing Local History, 2.5CR reading module
HY606 Reading the Irish Landscape, 2.5CR reading module (with field trip)
HY649 Medieval Ireland (x2 hours per week), 10CR elective (with field trip)

He also contributes to
HY607 Debates and Controversies in Irish History (x2 hours per week) 12.5CR core


Some of Dr Potterton’s previous teaching is outlined below
2011: School of Archaeology, UCD. Taught Adult Education courses on ‘The castles of the Dublin region: creating the medieval world’ and (jointly) ‘Expanding horizons: Ireland and the wider world, AD600–1800’ (including fieldtrips).

2010: School of Archaeology, UCD. Taught Adult Education course on ‘The archaeology of medieval Ireland’.

2008–2009: Lecturer, School of Archaeology, UCD. Taught courses on ‘Expanding horizons: Ireland, Europe and the Atlantic world, AD800–1800’; ‘The archaeology of identity’; ‘Historical archaeology’ (MA); supervised 7 MAs.

2006–2007: Lecturer, Department of Archaeology, NUI Galway. Contributed series of lectures to postgraduate, first- and second-year courses; taught complete third-year courses on: ‘Ireland from the Viking Age to the coming of the Anglo-Normans’ and ‘Gaelic and Plantation settlement and society’; supervised 2 MAs.

2003: Visiting Professor, Department of Celtic Studies, St Michael’s College, University of Toronto (one semester). Taught course on the archaeology and history of medieval Ireland.

2000–2005: Regular contributor to medieval courses in Department of Archaeology, NUI Galway.

1996–1997: Temporary Lecturer, Department of English, Université de Paris–IV (La Sorbonne).

1998–2005, 2009: Occasional Lecturer, Department of History, Maynooth University: designed, co-ordinated and taught 24-lecture courses on ‘Ireland 1014–1400’, ‘Research Methods for Historians’, ‘Irish Historic Settlement’ and ‘The Medieval Irish Town’; contributed to BA in Local and Community Studies Modular Degree Programme, BA in Local and Community Studies (Summer School in University of Wales, Lampeter), Modular Degree Programme (Outreach Campus, Kilkenny), Diploma in Cultural Tourism.