Congratulations to Dr. David O' Shaughnessy, who has received the Dean of Research Award for Research Excellence  

As well as being a world-leader in eighteenth-century studies, David has devoted himself to energising the research activities of his College community. He has contributed to the consolidation of Trinity’s international research reputation by establishing the Huntington Library (California) exchange fellowship-- a major academic connection between the Arts Humanities Faculty in Trinity and one of North America’s most prestigious advanced research institutions – in conjunction with a parallel academic partnership with Marsh’s Library in Dublin. To improve research-led thinking for undergraduates., he has created two specific online research development exercises for this level, http://godwindiary.bodleian.ox.ac.uk and https://tobeomitted.tcd.ie. In 2017 and 2018, David organised and directed a performance of the eighteenth-century play Love a la Mode at Smock Alley Theatre , involving in the production a number of his Mphil students as an extended research project. The play had a two-week run and was enthusiastically covered by the national press.  This theatre venture, run outside the classroom and the library and into off-campus forums, is an excellent showcase of ‘living research’, and another example of David’s ability not simply to lead existing activity but to pioneer new and challenging research enterprises. Such endeavours have raised Trinity’s research profile and, even more importantly, engaged students and colleagues from every tier of a university research hierarchy.

For more details about the award see: https://www.tcd.ie/research/researchmatters/awards-2020.php