My name is Angela Byrne and I’m a historian of eighteenth and nineteenth century travel, exploration and emigration, specialising in the experiences of women and migrants in the past.

I am an experienced exhibition curator, public speaker, non-fiction author, and editor. I’d be delighted to speak with you about how I can participate in your event, contribute to your research project, or assist with your editorial needs. Please get in touch using the ‘contact’ button. 

I am a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Member of the Irish Association for Professional Historians, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I am currently a part-time editor with the Dictionary of Irish Biography, based in the Royal Irish Academy.

I earned a double honours BA in History and English in 2003 and a PhD in History in 2009, both at National University of Ireland Maynooth. I have held research and lecturing positions at University of Toronto, University of Greenwich, NUI Maynooth, Ulster University, and the Royal Irish Academy. In 2018–19, I was inaugural Historian-in-Residence at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, and I have worked as Cultural Officer at the Irish Foreign Ministry.

Finally, if you are wondering why I’ve chosen the name ‘Historianka’ – I grew up in a house full of books and where TV was limited, so I’ve loved history and literature since I was a small child. My first serious foray into historical research was as a postgraduate student, when I studied Irish visitors to Russia in the eighteenth century – a project that emerged from my love of travel and travel writing, and my curiosity about cross-cultural encounters in the past. The name ‘Historianka’ is my way of holding onto those early passions, as I explore other aspects of life in the past.