Tracey Hayes

Biography and research

My PhD research will involve an ecological enquiry into folk traditions recorded in Ireland’s National Folklore Collection, one of the world’s largest folklore archives. More specifically, I will investigate the folk beliefs, narratives and traditions related to two very different kinds of birds in Ireland - the wren, commonly found throughout the country, and the golden and white-tailed eagles, which became extinct in the early twentieth century and have since been reintroduced into parts of the country. In comparing the folk traditions about these two birds, I will explore how vernacular perceptions and traditions may have influenced the birds’ conservation status in Ireland, and more broadly, the importance of local belief and knowledge systems in relation to issues of species’ extinction and preservation.

I completed my MA in Irish Folklore and Ethnology at University College Dublin (UCD) in 2023, and since then have been lecturing in UCD on various folklore modules. My masters’ thesis research focussed on legends about the cow of abundance in Irish folklore - the Glas Gaibhneach - and my source material was drawn from the National Folklore Collection and ethnography which I carried out in County Kerry. During the fieldwork, it became evident the legend functioned as an allegory for environmental exploitation amongst some of the participants. Since then, the environmental aspects of Irish folklore have fascinated me, and this is a subject I will continue to explore through my PHD research at LCAB.

Funder 

The Leverhulme Trust