Hi, my name is Sarah McGuire! I am currently studying History and English at Trinity College Dublin and am a member of the 2026 Trinity Laidlaw Scholars cohort. 

I am interested in the ways in which literature can be used to construct and convey identity, and in finding ways to interrogate limiting beliefs that influence how we engage with national and cultural identity, gender, and class. With my own background from the North East of Ireland, I believe that it is essential to question the roots of our identities, and more important than ever to push back against exclusionary and arbitrary definitions of who ‘gets’ to identity as Irish.

My Summer 1 research project is entitled ‘This is Your Magazine: Literary Periodicals and Identity in Mid-twentieth century Ireland’, and will focus on short stories published in The Bell Magazine (1940-1954) and what they can tell us about the complexity of Irish identity in this period. This study aims to explore the ways in which people engaged with the literary periodical and short story form as a crucial means of self expression in a period of censorship, and how they wrote back against the dominant ideology which created narrow parameters surrounding the normative portrayal of Irish identity post-partition. 

Beyond my research, I love to write short fiction of my own, contribute to college publications as a writer and editor, and read widely on literary, art, and music history. 

I would love to connect with fellow scholars, feel free to reach out to discuss research or similar interests!