Dr Paul O'Leary
BA, PhD (Wales)

Professor in Welsh History
Department of History & Welsh History
Contact Details
- Email: ppo@aber.ac.uk
- Office: 1.03, International Politics Building
- Phone: +44 (0) 1970 622842
- Research Portal Profile
Profile
Prof. Paul O'Leary, BA, PhD (Wales), FLSW, FRhist, is the Sir John Williams Professor of Welsh History. He is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a specialist in the history of 19th and early twentieth-century Wales, especially its social and cultural histories. Among other topics, he has written on Irish migration, the history of minority ethnic groups, on urban history and the history of sport. He is currently interested in the international dimensions to the history of Wales by exploring relationships with Ireland, analyzing the impact of imperialism on Welsh life and by studying French-language interpretations of 19th century Wales. He was co-manager of the AHRC-funded Ireland-Wales International Research Network and is co-editor (post-1700) of the Welsh History Review. He is author of: Claiming the Streets: Processions and Urban Culture in South Wales, c.1830-1880 (2012); Immigration and Integration: the Irish in Wales, 1798-1922 (2000); Ffrainc a Chymru, 1830-1880: Dehongliadau Ffrengig o Genedl Ddi-wladwriaeth (2015); co-editor of A Tolerant Nation? Revisiting Ethnic Diversity in a Devolved Wales (2015); and co-editor of the Welsh History Review.
Teaching
Module Coordinator
- HA20120 - Llunio Hanes
- HCM0160 - Traethawd Hir: Hanes Cymru
- WHM1220 - Class and Community in Wales 1850 - 1939
- WHM1920 - The Making of Modern Wales
- HAM0160 - Traethawd Hir
- HQ35420 - The Irish in Britain, c.1815-70 (Part 1): Migration and Settlement
- HY26920 - An Age of Empire: Britain and Ireland, 1850-1914
- HQ35520 - The Irish in Britain, c. 1850-1922 (Part 2): Community and Conflict
- HY36920 - An Age of Empire: Britain and Ireland, 1850-1914
Coordinator
- HAM0160 - Traethawd Hir
- HQ35520 - The Irish in Britain, c. 1850-1922 (Part 2): Community and Conflict
- WHM1220 - Class and Community in Wales 1850 - 1939
- WHM1920 - The Making of Modern Wales
- HCM0160 - Traethawd Hir: Hanes Cymru
- HQ35420 - The Irish in Britain, c.1815-70 (Part 1): Migration and Settlement
- HY36920 - An Age of Empire: Britain and Ireland, 1850-1914
- HY26920 - An Age of Empire: Britain and Ireland, 1850-1914
- HA20120 - Llunio Hanes
Tutor
- HYM0120 - Research Methods and Professional Skills in History
- HY26920 - An Age of Empire: Britain and Ireland, 1850-1914
- HY36920 - An Age of Empire: Britain and Ireland, 1850-1914
- HYM1220 - Sources for Postgraduate Research in the Modern Humanities and Social Sciences
- HQ35420 - The Irish in Britain, c.1815-70 (Part 1): Migration and Settlement
- HQ35520 - The Irish in Britain, c. 1850-1922 (Part 2): Community and Conflict
- HY11820 - The Modern World, 1789 to the present
- WH11720 - People, Power and Identity: Wales 1200-1999
- WHM1220 - Class and Community in Wales 1850 - 1939
- HA20120 - Llunio Hanes
- HYM0520 - Key Themes in Modern History
- WHM1920 - The Making of Modern Wales
- HY12420 - Europe and the World, 1000-2000
- HC11820 - Cymdeithas, Pobl a Gwleidyddiaeth: Cymru, 1800-1999
- HA11420 - Ewrop a'r Byd, 1000-2000
Lecturer
- HA10420 - Cydio mewn Hanes: Ffynonellau a'u Haneswyr
- HY10420 - 'Hands on' History: Sources and their Historians
- HA30340 - Traethawd Estynedig
- HA20120 - Llunio Hanes
- HY36920 - An Age of Empire: Britain and Ireland, 1850-1914
- WH11720 - People, Power and Identity: Wales 1200-1999
- HY11820 - The Modern World, 1789 to the present
- HA30300 - Traethawd Estynedig
- HA12120 - Cyflwyno Hanes
- HY26920 - An Age of Empire: Britain and Ireland, 1850-1914
- HY30340 - Dissertation
- HY20120 - Making History
- HY30300 - Dissertation
- HY12420 - Europe and the World, 1000-2000
- HC11820 - Cymdeithas, Pobl a Gwleidyddiaeth: Cymru, 1800-1999
- HA11420 - Ewrop a'r Byd, 1000-2000
Aspire Admin
- HA10420 - Cydio mewn Hanes: Ffynonellau a'u Haneswyr
- HY10420 - 'Hands on' History: Sources and their Historians
Moderator
- HP34520 - Milwyr, Myfyrwyr a Masnachwyr: Teithio a Symudedd yn Ewrop Ganoloesol (Rhan 1)
- HY30120 - The British Isles in the Long Eighteenth Century
- HY22020 - The British Isles in the Long Eighteenth Century
- HYM5120 - Concepts and Sources in Heritage Studies
PhD Supervision:
Prof. O'Learyl has extensive experience of postgraduate supervision, having supervised successfully more than thirty postgraduate dissertations on a wide variety of topics in the social, cultural and political history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly in relation to the histories of Wales and the British Isles. The topics studied include aspects of urban history, the history of minority ethnic groups, religious history, political cultures, the history of policing, Chartism and aspects of the comparative histories of Wales, Ireland and France. He is happy to discuss proposals for future research projects.