Sarah Mason

Sarah is a PhD researcher at Edinburgh University conducting an oral history investigation into working-class female collectivisation in West Belfast, Northern Ireland, during the Troubles conflict. Her PhD focuses on the intersection of class, ethno-nationalist identity, sectarianism, poverty and gender dynamics within West Belfast and how this unique nexus informed the creation of women’s networks in the region. Sarah completed her BA in History at Oxford University where her study and research into women’s history in Northern Ireland developed under the supervision of the Foster Fellow, Prof Ian McBride. This development informed the completion of her MPhil studies at Glasgow University where her focus on the relationship between sectarianism and gender dynamics developed. In 2022, Sarah joined the Modern Irish History Group at the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of Prof Enda Delaney and Dr Angela Bartie. Her thesis title, “Bin Lid Brigades and Mummy’s Little Helpers: An Oral History Investigation of Women’s Communal Networks in West Belfast, 1975-1985” is a continuation of her post-graduate work. Sarah is funded by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (AHRC) and the Justin Arbuthnott Scholarship for Modern Irish History. Sarah is the recipient of numerous academic prizes including, the Oxford Hildegarde Research Prize and the British Association for Irish Studies Postgraduate bursary. She is a member of the UK Oral History Society, Women’s Association for Irish Studies, Oral History Network of Ireland and the Royal Historical Society.