After a short posting hiatus, I'm very excited to share this CFP... 📢 Migration and the Early Modern Spanish Empire 📆 Conference dates: June 10–12, 2026 📝 Application deadline: December 19, 2025 Submissions very welcome from all #earlymodern disciplines — please do consider applying and sharing!

What exactly did 100 ‘reales’ get newly trained students returning to Ireland in the 1600s? According to Cristina Bravo Lozano in Spain and the Irish Mission: sea passage, liturgical books, and civilian clothing to hide from hostile English authorities (80). #SkyStorians #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

How much were migrants given to return home on the Irish Mission? In a letter from 1642, a rector requests 100 reales for two newly trained students [‘a cada qual ciento’] who he described as virtuous and good-natured [‘gente virtuosa y sonrrada’]. #Archives #Skystorians #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Looking back on my own recent travels as I read more about early modern migrants who made their way back to Ireland, and I can see why Malin Head was picked as a Star Wars filming spot. Still struck by the mood of the sea even on a quiet drizzly day… #Films #Coast #Travel #Nature #Ireland #StarWars

Many Irish migrants answered the call to return from Iberia and promote Catholicism in Ireland. From the early 1600s, as Cristina Bravo Lozano details in Spain and the Irish Mission, over a thousand clergy applied for travel funds to this end [‘viatica’]. #SkyStorians #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

What exactly was the religious work of Irish migrants in Iberia? According to a papal note from 1623, they were training for the Irish Mission [‘missionis in Hiberniam’] — a duty to return home and preach Catholicism amid expanding Protestant rule. #Archives #Skystorians #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Grateful for a fascinating trip up to Donegal! Especially interesting to learn about Sir Cahir O'Doherty — last Gaelic lord of Inishowen and English ally-turned-rebel from the early 1600s — after this epic view of Carrickabraghy Castle. #Castles #Coasts #Skystorians #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Irish migrants used Spanish to reject English stereotypes in the 1610s. When English edicts called them a pestilence in the land [‘pestilencia de la tierra’], the Irish took pride in the incredible fruits of their religious work [‘increible fruto’]. #Archives #Skystorians #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Even high-ranking English leaders made the Irish-Moor-Morisco connection. As Barbara Fuchs notes in ‘Spanish Lessons’, Sir Arthur Chichester linked ‘desperate and rebellious courses’ with the ‘white [O’]Moores’ and the elided Celtic ‘O’ in a 1609 report (50). #Skystorians #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Can’t resist a last summer photo after spotting these lovely flowers in north Dublin… The sun is offering some clarity as I think through more surprising Irish (dis)connections with groups like the Moriscos, i.e., Muslim-Christian converts in Iberia. #Nature #AmReading #EarlyModern #BloomScrolling

Irish refugees may have felt pressure to define themselves against Muslim-Christian converts in Iberia. As Ciaran O’Scea writes in Surviving Kinsale, English writers linked them via slurs — ‘barbarousness, and brutishness’ — to justify persecution (212). #Skystorians #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Early Irish migrants sometimes defined themselves against other persecuted groups. In 1610, an altar marked one college's founding as the year Muslim-Christian converts were expelled from Iberia as so-called enemies of the faith [‘enemigos de la fe’]. #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

More happy Friday flowers! Taking a bit of a break from Irish materials today to prep for teaching, especially excited about some multilingual medieval ‘jarchas’ and ‘moaxajas’ in Arabic, Hebrew, and the first traces of Romance languages in Iberia… #Lit #Nature #Medieval #AmReading #BloomScrolling

Efforts to fight corruption and protect the persecuted weren’t always rewarded. In 1659, for example, the Inquisition dealt a death blow to the former Irish-Iberian student Lamport — a “tragically unsurprising” fate according to O’Connor’s book (115). #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Some practiced ideals taught in Irish-Iberian colleges. As Thomas O’Connor writes in Irish Voices from the Spanish Inquisition, former student William Lamport defended Jewish-Christian converts and drafted plans for “the liberation of slaves” (105–8). #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Great to be back in Ireland and catching the last bits of summer! Sending these lovely flowers I spotted into the world for the weekend as I mull over my archival finds from the months away. #Nature #Walking #Dublin #LoveIrishResearch p.s. Anyone know their name? (Seems to be some kind of rose?)

Early Irish exiles also learned to treat strangers as friends and friends as strangers in Iberia. That way, says one manual, friends would return to the faith and strangers wouldn’t leave it [“para que estos se le buevan, y aquellos no se le vayan”]. #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Early Irish exiles were taught a wide range of approaches to the world in their new Iberian colleges. In a book by Luis de León from 1603, for instance, the author highlights that one cannot live without loving: “no se puede vivir sin amar”. #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

For now, summer research wrapped! Looking forward to my first proper vacation in a long time, but one last find before I go... always thought medievalists had the best animal illustrations, but I love this dog who is just not having any of the epic drama here. #Art #Engraving #Archives #EarlyModern

Early Irish-Iberian students also met other communities facing exile. From encounters with moriscos (Muslim converts to Christianity) to conversos (Jewish converts to Christianity), more to come on intersections with purity laws and the Inquisition… #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Irish-Iberian migrants did meet strong everyday women. Despite silence in early college records, traces surface in property notes (“la dicha Doña Elvira”), legal debts (41,854 maravedís to Antonia de Céspedes), and printed books (by Antonia Ramírez). #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Going to miss running here! Such a good spot to think through all the reading lately... For my last full week with the early Irish-Iberian migrant book collection: Saint Patrick stories, Middle Eastern pilgrimages, and semi-censored Spanish miscellanea. #Run #BookSky #AmReading #Nature #Salamanca

The first Irish-Iberian college book collection echoes gender views in its manuscripts. Some texts praise Biblical women with epic visions of their virtues, while others, like the 1603 treatise on “The Perfect Wife”, stress silence for everyday women. #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Female figures don’t always hold power in Irish-Iberian archives. Some texts show strong visions of Mary, but others exclude women from certain Irish waters and even warn of death upon entry: “… una que tuvo atrevimiento de tentarlo se avia ahogado…” #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Morning view from the University of Salamanca’s reading room. Grateful for a cool breeze after the heat wave as I dive into books owned by the first Irish-Iberian college exiles, including Marian devotions, Japanese geographies, and Greek tragedies. #Art #Architecture #BookSky #AmReading #Salamanca

Fantastical stories of Ireland include rare mentions of female figures in Irish-Iberian college records. In 1609, someone allegedly tried to remove an image of the Virgin Mary from Kilkenny—and it fought back: a piece “leapt… and plucked out his eye.” #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Women left an uneven presence in early Irish-Iberian college records. While few manuscripts mention any women so far (13 out of 104), almost all the printed book paratexts do (21 out of 24). Both feisty and unfortunate examples to come… #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory #WomensHistory

For the literature nerds like me! A statue for Lazarillo de Tormes — an early first-person novella about a wily rogue working his way up the social ladder out of poverty that’s seen as a precursor to modern fiction and the likes of Don Quixote. #Books #BookSky #Literature #FamousAuthors #Salamanca

Early Irish exiles didn’t always form cohesive communities abroad. According to the first Irish-Iberian college history, some suspected bias for student intake [“the great majority were Munstermen… to the great prejudice… of Connaught and of Ulster”]. #Migration #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory

Where exactly did early Irish migrants come from in Ireland? A 1617 student list for the Irish College in Salamanca documents origins ranging from Waterford [‘Waterfordensis’ x 26] to Cashel [‘Cassiliensis’ x 4] to Galway [‘Galvensis’ x 8]. #Migration #History #Historia #IrishHistory #EarlyModern

I think my cat might be enjoying the stay in Spain for my research as much as I am… #Cat #Cats #Gato #Gatos #Paseando #Salamanca #MSCA

Irish migrants were as varied as they were numerous. The Irish in Europe, 1580–1815, edited by Thomas O’Connor, describes all walks of life: women and men, rich and poor, philosophers and merchants, soldiers and (my favourite) more than a few infamous pirates. #Migration #SkyStorians #IrishHistory

Students weren't the only ones fleeing Ireland in the early 1600s. In Surviving Kinsale, Ciaran O’Scea estimates some 10,000 migrants came to Galicia in the aftermath of the Nine Years War and met a “rapid learning curve” for adaptation (124). #SkyStorians #EarlyModern #IrishHistory #SpanishHistory

View from the Roman bridge in Salamanca. Evenings by the río Tormes are always a lovely sight after a day in the archives. #Nature #Atardecer #Salamanca #MSCA

Irish students described difficult conditions for Catholics in their homeland. Upon return to Ireland in 1607, one wrote that he could no longer recall a single day or night without clear danger [“un solo dia o noche sin… manifiestos peligros”]. #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory #SpanishHistory

Felipe III wasn’t alone in recognizing the reasons for the flight of Irish migrants. In a papal brief on July 10th, 1617, Paul V claimed to be especially vigilant for students exiled due to faith [“à patria sua causa fidei Catholicæ exulantes”]. #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory #SpanishHistory

Very lucky to be working in the archives at the University of Salamanca this summer. The city hosted the longest running Irish college in Iberia, open from 1592 to 1951, where students could have walked across the various versions of this Roman bridge in history. #MSCA #IrishHistory #SpanishHistory

Why did students leave Ireland for Iberia in the first place? As King Felipe III wrote on July 15th, 1617, many Irish Catholics were fleeing religious persecution ["muchos catolicos yrlandeses... bienen huyendo de la persecucion de los herejes"]. #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory #SpanishHistory

Financial struggles lasted for years. The later rector William MacDonald lauded locals for helping newly-arrived student migrants in Seville ["the zeal of some and the charity of others... lifted the college out of the mud"]. #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory #SpanishHistory

Donations didn't always make ends meet or even make it into good hands. On April 3rd, 1636, the Archbishop of Cuzco lamented the sting of money lost on the way to Salamanca [“siento que los quinientos pesos menguasen tanto”]. #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory #SpanishHistory

Support also came from as far as Peru. In addition to sending money to the Irish College, the Archbishop of Cuzco shared a friendship with the rector from 1632-1642 [“como amigo me encomiende a Dios y me consuele con avisos”]. #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory #SpanishHistory

Spanish nobility supported the Irish College in Salamanca at times. On February 22nd, 1622, the Conde de Ayala donated out of fondness for the community ["siendo tan particularmente aficionado a los religosos de esta nación"]. #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory #SpanishHistory

King Felipe II himself helped found the college for Irish migrants in Salamanca. In a letter on August 12th, 1592, he wrote to ensure them everything necessary ["todo lo que fuere menester"] to study Catholicism and return home to promote it. #Archives #EarlyModern #IrishHistory #SpanishHistory