Ciara Henderson – Postdoctoral Representative
As an interdisciplinary researcher, Ciara is interested in human connection and empathy and the ways in which responses to death are socialised.
Her research focuses on bereaved parenthood, and explores contemporary and historic responses to maternal, child and reproductive mortality. Tracing the evolution of Irish death customs through the 19th and 20th centuries, she explores what constitutes normative death and burial.
More specifically, she examines traditional and historical responses to perinatal deaths (stillbirth, miscarriage and neonatal death). In Ireland, segregated burial grounds known as killeens (cillÃnÃ) have long been used for such burials and these remain both a source of fascination and controversy.
In addition, she has a strong interest in after death communications. As a research fellow in the School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, her postdoctoral work focuses on improving mental healthcare.