{"id":9211,"date":"2023-11-13T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/?p=9211"},"modified":"2026-07-10T16:35:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T20:35:51","slug":"on-the-retirement-of-aedin-ni-bhroithe-clements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/on-the-retirement-of-aedin-ni-bhroithe-clements\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Retirement of Aed\u00edn N\u00ed Bhr\u00f3ithe Clements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Erika Hosselkus, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources and Services<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Aedin<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Aed\u00edn Clements joined Hesburgh Libraries in 2005 as the organization\u2019s first dedicated Irish Studies Librarian. During her tenure, Aed\u00edn has developed world class research and special collections in Irish<\/a> literature, history, and adjacent fields. These include the near-comprehensive Irish Fiction Collection, the Jonathan Swift collection, a large Irish broadside ballads collection, and the Captain Francis O\u2019Neill Irish music collection, among many others. A native speaker of Irish, Aed\u00edn has also envisioned and developed Hesburgh Libraries\u2019 substantial Irish-language holdings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with her collection development activities, Aedin has worked extensively to support students, faculty, and visiting researchers and dignitaries interested in Irish Studies and Irish Language and Literature. As part of her broad outreach, Aedin has curated exhibitions on the writings of the Irish diaspora, Irish children\u2019s literature, the Easter Rising of 1916<\/a>, and Irish book arts<\/a>. In 2018, she developed the Keough-Naughton Library Research Award<\/a>, a partnership between Hesburgh Libraries, the Keough-Naughton Institute, and Notre Dame International offering research fellowships that enable external scholars to utilize the Libraries\u2019 rare Irish collections. Most recently, Aed\u00edn collaborated with Hesburgh Libraries\u2019 and Irish Studies colleagues to develop an app-based tour of Dublin<\/a> featuring connections to materials in our Irish collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aed\u00edn has built Hesburgh Libraries\u2019 Irish collections<\/a> and forged critical connections with campus partners and a global network of researchers. In anticipation of her retirement, we asked colleagues to reflect on her impact and the importance of her work at Notre Dame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah E. McKibben<\/strong> (Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Irish Language and Literature, University of Notre Dame):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aed\u00edn was a simply marvelous colleague and we will miss her so much! She was so responsive and helpful whenever I located a text I thought we should acquire. She was always full of ideas for my own or my students’ research. She was eager to show my students around the library or teach a research methods session with them, or to help them find the perfect text for their final presentations. In fact, she was so enthusiastic, creative and inspiring that I know she helped many students fall in love with their topics and even pursue further work in Irish Studies. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since she retired just a week ago, I keep thinking “oh I must email Aed\u00edn about this”…I must say, I’m a bit lost without her. She was one of the best hires ND has ever made in Irish Studies.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Aed\u00edn receiving a tune written for her by Se\u00e1n Doherty, a lecturer at Dublin City University and one of the recipients of the Keough-Naughton Library Research Award in Irish Studies in 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Natasha Lyandres<\/strong> (Curator, Rare Books and Special Collections, Hesburgh Library, University of Notre Dame):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost a year ago, Aed\u00edn Clements, our dear colleague, started an epic countdown to her retirement. At the end of October she left the Hesburgh Libraries after serving as Irish Studies Librarian for almost twenty years. Aed\u00edn has had an incredibly successful career at Notre Dame. It’s been a real honor to work with her over the past ten years in Rare Books and Special Collections. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aed\u00edn contributed to the significant growth of Irish Collections by bringing major acquisitions and expanding the reach and impact of her collections through fruitful collaborations with the Keough-Naughton Institute, Notre Dame International, and with the Department of Irish Language and Literature. From teaching numerous classes and supporting graduate and undergraduate students, to installing exhibits and writing blog posts, to launching the Library Research Award in Irish Studies, to welcoming numerous visitors, to assisting scholars from all over the world with their research on campus, Aed\u00edn has been the driving force behind the Rare Books and Special Collections\u2019 success and wide international recognition of our Irish collections. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will miss Aed\u00edn\u2019s infectious enthusiasm for Irish Studies, her cheerful personality, her dedication to the Libraries and the University, and also the beautiful sound of the Irish language echoing through the department. Congratulations, dear Aed\u00edn, on your retirement. You will always hold a very special place in our hearts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We thank Aed\u00edn for her service, contributions, and collegiality and wish her the best in retirement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Erika Hosselkus, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources and Services Aed\u00edn Clements joined Hesburgh Libraries in 2005 as the organization\u2019s first dedicated Irish Studies Librarian. During her tenure, Aed\u00edn has developed world class research and special collections in Irish literature, history, and adjacent fields. These include the near-comprehensive Irish Fiction Collection, the Jonathan Swift … Continue reading On the Retirement of Aed\u00edn N\u00ed Bhr\u00f3ithe Clements<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1936,"featured_media":8508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[75053,12646],"tags":[156,77951],"class_list":["post-9211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-studies","category-miscellaneous","tag-news","tag-whos-who"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1936"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9211"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12353,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9211\/revisions\/12353"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}