Dr Mark McCarthy is Senior Lecturer & Programme Chair in Heritage at Atlantic Technological University (ATU), Ireland. He works at the Department of Heritage & Tourism, ATU Galway City and is founder of the Heritage Research Group.

Teaching: Mark teaches on the following modules in the Higher Certificate, BA, and BA (Hons) in Heritage:

• HIST06009 – Modern Irish History & Memory
• HIST06010 – Later Modern International History & Memory
• HIST06011 – European History Field Studies
• HIST07015 – Irish Local History & Genealogy
• HIST07037 – Work Experience
• GEOG07005 – Historical Geography
• HIST07044 – Research Methods
• HIST08014 – Irish Historiography
• GEOG08010 – Geography, Planning & Climate Heritage
• THES08009 – Dissertation

Research interests and activities: Mark's research interests include cultural heritage studies; urban historical geography; memory & commemoration of rebellions & wars in post-conflict contexts; and early modern & modern Irish & international history. He has worked on many heritage and public history projects with local authorities and higher education institutions, including the development of heritage trails, commemorative programmes, exhibitions, and short films. He has made contributions to a range of academic and research activities at ATU, through the supervision of PhD students in heritage studies and by means of membership of the Heritage Research Group, Academic Council, and Research and Innovation Committee.

Sample publications and projects: Mark is the author of a 516-page monograph, Ireland’s 1916 Rising: Explorations of History-Making, Commemoration & Heritage in Modern Times (Ashgate, 2012; Repr. Routledge, 2016). This was shortlisted for the Geographical Society of Ireland’s Book of the Year Award. Mark has also co-authored a bilingual guide book (with Marie Mannion and Shirley Wrynn), entitled Galway County 1916 Heritage Trail: Go Explore the Historic Sites & Memorials (Galway County Council/Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, 2017) and another bilingual guidebook (with Eilish Kavanagh), entitled The Loughnane Brothers Heritage Trail: Explore Historic Sites & Memorials of Ireland’s War of Independence (Galway County Council & ATU Heritage Research Group, 2022). In 2016, Mark was Coordinator of GMIT's 1916–2016 Centenary Programme of Events and Joint Coordinator (with Marie Mannion) of Galway Remembers 1916 – eight short documentary films directed by Paul Murphy (Galway Film Centre). Mark was also Chair of the Golden Jubilee 1972–2022 Commemoration Committee at ATU Galway-Mayo, which ran a programme of events to remember and reflect upon fifty years of technological higher education in the west of Ireland. As part of this initiative, he curated an exhibition at the ATU Galway City, Dublin Road campus on Celebrating Fifty Years of Technological Higher Education in the West of Ireland, 1972–2022. This exhibition ran from 1 September 2022–15 March 2024, while a duplicate version was displayed at Galway City Museum from 10 September-8 October 2022. Mark is also the co-editor (with Bernard O'Hara) and a contributing author to a number of chapters in a book entitled Technological Higher Education in the West of Ireland since 1972: Perspectives on the History & Memory of RTC Galway, GMIT, & ATU Galway-Mayo (Atlantic Technological University, 2025).