Karen Dempsey: University College Dublin (UCD)
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A Brief Discussion and Examination of Castle sites in County Roscommon |
Karen Dempsey grew up just outside Monasterevin, Co. Kildare and has long been fascinated with the medieval period which drew her towards her current research. She holds an International BA in Archaeology and Ancient Greek & Roman Society from University College Dublin where she also completed an MA in Historical and Contemporary Archaeology in 2008 focussing on Carbury Castle and its landscape. She submitted her PhD in February 2015, fully funded by the Irish Research Council, at the same institution.
Entitled ‘Medieval halls and rectangular chamber-towers in thirteenth-century Ireland’, her thesis examines the architecture, and socio-political context of fully-detached thirteenth-century halls and chambers. Buildings of all periods fascinate her; from churches and nineteenth century coach-houses to Busárus and the Brutalist movement that emerged in the 1950s. However, her main interest is focused upon understanding medieval castles; the people who built and lived within them and the world view that they represent.
Entitled ‘Medieval halls and rectangular chamber-towers in thirteenth-century Ireland’, her thesis examines the architecture, and socio-political context of fully-detached thirteenth-century halls and chambers. Buildings of all periods fascinate her; from churches and nineteenth century coach-houses to Busárus and the Brutalist movement that emerged in the 1950s. However, her main interest is focused upon understanding medieval castles; the people who built and lived within them and the world view that they represent.