Michelle McGoff-McCann, PhD. – IRISH ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL HISTORIANS

Michelle McGoff-McCann, PhD.

2019

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About me

Email	michelle.mcgoffmccann@gmail.com
Twitter link	@mcgoffmccann.bsky.social
Facebook link	https://www.facebook.com/michelle.mcgoffmccann
Bio	I am a professional historian and published author who specialises in nineteenth and early twentieth century Irish social and political history, with particular expertise in death investigation, murder, administrative history, and the Great Famine. My research interests extend to gender studies, the Irish Civil War, art history, innovation, and Irish estate life and management, and I am a regular conference speaker across these diverse topics. Beyond my historical work, I serve as a chief marketing officer with 30 years of experience in knowledge management and publishing. I regularly share my expertise through lectures on marketing, public speaking, confidence building, and career guidance, demonstrating versatility as both a historian and business professional. Full academic and speaking profile can be found at IAPH and my business profile at: My Linkedin Profile
Areas of expertise	The administrative, social and political history of the coroner in nineteenth century Ireland; investigation of death and murder; disease, criminology and local administrative politics; County Monaghan social and political history; the Bath Estate in County Monaghan; Artist, inventor, and writer, John Bedell Stanford MacIlwaine (1858-1945).
Keywords	{nineteenth century}; {coroner}; {administrative history}; {presbyterian history}; {death investigation}; {murder}; {juries}; {social history}; {Famine}; {County Monaghan}; {Bath Estate}; {Farney}; J.B.S. MacIlwaine; John Bedell Stanford MacIlwaine {artist} {inventor}

Member Details

Nickname	Michelle McGoff-McCann, PhD.
Membership Type	Professional Historian

Experience

Education	Queen’s University Belfast, PhD in History (2019) St. Mary’s University, Twickenham MA in Irish Studies (2014) Binghamton University, New York, BA in English and Rhetoric (1994) State University of New York Broome, A.B.A. in Business Administration and Marketing (1992)
Employment	My LinkedIn Profile and Experience
Consultancy work	‘Barbarous’ Murders: Gender, Violence & Mortality (1846-52) The Irish Famine Lecture Series Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Watch here The Importance of the Coroner During the Great Irish Famine The Irish Famine Lecture Series Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Watch here Death Investigation during the Great Irish Famine: The coroner and the inquest Irish History Lecture Series Institute for Irish Studies: Queen’s University Belfast Watch here The Irish Coroner: Death, Murder and Politics in Co. Monaghan, 1846-78 The History Show with Myles Dungan (NewsTalk) Listen here
Management & Administrative experience	I have been a senior global marketing leader in financial services for over 20 years based in NYC, San Francisco, Dublin and London.
Teaching	I bring a unique combination of academic expertise and 25 years of professional experience in publishing and marketing leadership roles. My career has equipped me with exceptional skills in creating and delivering educational content across diverse contexts. Having developed content for over 20 years as part of my career in publishing and marketing, I have extensive experience in content strategy, development, and delivery. I have developed and facilitated training programs in creative writing, technical writing, confidence building, professional services, and marketing throughout my professional career at organizations like RELX, Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), and Thomson Reuters. As a guest lecturer at the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen’s University Belfast, I delivered “Death Investigation during the Great Irish Famine,” which was recorded for wider dissemination. My approach to teaching combines academic rigor with real-world application, emphasizing critical thinking and engagement with primary sources while incorporating innovative pedagogical techniques developed through years of leading high-performing professional teams. This multifaceted background allows me to connect historical concepts with contemporary relevance, enriching the student learning experience.
Outreach activities	TV appearances ‘LiveNOW from FOXNEWS TV: Honouring Irish women during St. Patrick’s Day, recording Mar. 2024 Radio interviews The Pat Kenny Show: RTÉ NewsTalk, Live Interview: The Irish Coroner and a new social history of the Great Irish Famine, recording July 2023 NewsTalk, ‘Talking History: July Books Special’ with Pat Geoghegan, The Irish Coroner: Death, Murder and Politics in Co. Monaghan, 1846-78, recording July 2023 RTÉ Radio 1, The History Show with Myles Dungan, ‘Interview: Death, Murder and Politics in 19th century County Monaghan’, recording Oct. 2023 Northern Sound radio, Multiple ‘live history interviews’, Dec. 2003 thru Nov. 2023 Marian Finucane Show: RTÉ Radio 1, Melancholy Madness ‘Live interview’ Dec. 2003 ‘Talkback’ with David Dunseith: BBC Northern Ireland Radio, Melancholy Madness ‘Live interview’, Jan. 2004 Public lectures Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith, London, ‘The Importance of the Irish Coroner’ Nov. 2024 Coroners Society of England and Wales Annual Conference, ‘The History of the Irish Coroner’, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sept. 2024 Cahans Community Centre, Co. Monaghan “At the Coalface of Death: The Irish Coroner”, Aug. 2024 Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Craigavon, Co. Armagh ‘Barbarous Murders: Gender, Violence & Mortality (1846-52)’, Feb. 2024 recording Coroners Society of Ireland Annual Conference ‘The History of the Irish Coroner’, Ballina, Co. Mayo, Oct. 2023 Irish History Series, Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith, London, ‘The Irish Coroner: Death, Murder and Politics in Co. Monaghan, 1846-78, July 2023 Monaghan County Council, ‘The Irish Coroner: Death, Murder and Politics in Co. Monaghan, 1846-78’ two public lectures in Carrickmacross and Monaghan town, Co. Monaghan, Aug. 2023 Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Craigavon, Co. Armagh ‘The Importance of the Coroner during the Great Irish Famine’, Mar. 2023 recording SOLAS, Monaghan, Co. Monaghan, ‘An examination of 19th c. and early 20th c. factors influencing admissions to Irish asylums’, Nov. 2016
Committees & Associations	The Society for the Study of Nineteenth Century Irish History The Irish Legal History Society British Association for Irish Studies The Royal Society for Arts, Manufacture and Commerce Irish Association of Professional Historians The Economic and Social History Society of Ireland Irish History at Queen’s University Belfast EFACIS: European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies The Institute for Historical Research, London The Clogher Historical Society
Awards	Arts and Heritage Funding Monaghan County Council, 2023 Project: The Irish Coroner: Death, Murder and Politics in Co. Monaghan, 1846-78
Other activities	Pat Kenny: NewsTalk (September 2023) Listen here Talking History with Patrick Geoghegan: July Books Special (July 2023) Listen here SSNCI: New Perspectives on Conflict and Ireland in the Nineteenth Century (June 2022) Conference Paper: ‘The Utility of the Coroner during the Great Famine: Conflicts of Interest’ PRONI: Prisons, Asylums, Workhouses: Institutions in Ireland Conference (June 2019) Conference Paper: ‘Swarming with Vermin: Investigating and managing inmate death at the gaol (1846-52) Watch here St. Mary’s Irish History Conference (November 2014) Conference Paper: The Investigation into Death: The Coroner’s Office in Nineteenth Century Ireland

Publications

Books

The Irish Coroner (1846-78): Death, Murder and Politics in Co. Monaghan (1846-78) [Four Courts Press, July 2023]

A Coroner’s Casebooks (1846-77): The Inquests of William Charles Waddell (Vols. 1-3) [Irish Manuscripts Commission, release date pending]

Melancholy Madness: A Coroner’s Casebook (Mercier Press, December 2003)

Book Chapters

Property, privilege and politics: A history of the coroner in pre-Famine Ireland (1801 to 1846), Figures of Authority in Nineteenth Century Ireland, Society for the Study of Nineteenth Century Irish History series (Liverpool University Press, 2020). This chapter examines the function, status and qualifications required for men serving in the role of coroner in Ireland in the first half of the nineteenth century. It considers the legislation imposed by the administration and this contested form of authority.

Conflicts of Interest: The utility of the coroner during the Great Famine (1845-52) New Perspectives on Conflict and Ireland in the Nineteenth Century, Society for the Study of Nineteenth Century Irish History series (Liverpool University Press, 2024 [pending]). This chapter examines the importance of the role of the coroner and the official investigation of death during the Great Famine. Inquest verdicts revealed institutional corruption, government mismanagement and neglect of marginalised groups, and put the coroner at odds with the establishment of which he was a member. The work of coroners placed them at the centre of social and political disputes and the inquest was a site of tension during the famine.

Electronic Publications

Article: “Death from Want”: What a coroner’s casebook tells us about Famine deaths
RTÉ: The Atlas of the Great Famine
Read here

Article: Coroners exposed corruption, social and moral failures in nineteenth century Ireland
The Journal.ie
Read here

IRISH ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL HISTORIANS

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