Liz Murray, a second-year doctoral student, is one of a number of postgraduate students at South East Technological University (SETU) to be awarded the Irish Research Council’s Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship 2022.
Bringing the Camino to the south east
‘More than Rucksack and Hiking Boots: An Investigation of Spiritual Practices which can enrich the Experience of Pilgrims walking Pilgrimage Routes in the South East of Ireland’ is the title of Liz Murray’s research project, supervised by Dr Bernadette Flanagan and Dr Joseph Collins from the School of Humanities, SETU Waterford.
To engage more effectively with the growing global pilgrim market, Murray has set her sights on the opportunities for local pilgrimage. Waterford, Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny have a rich spiritual heritage, ideally suited for further development of one-day pilgrim routes. By involving local, returned Camino de Santiago pilgrims as coresearchers, she explores the extent to which new and more innovative and attractive types of pilgrim routes, enhanced by a wide menu of spiritual activities, supports and services, could attract participants from the global pilgrim tourism market. The results will contribute to the local economy of the south east and enhance the region’s spiritual capital.
Benefits to the south east
The findings from Murray’s research study will be tested by dialoguing with the international community of pilgrimage studies. Speaking of her joy at receiving this scholarship, Murray said, “This award will enable me to move from being an independent researcher since completing my masters in 2017, to being a member of an international knowledge network. Knowledge gained through my research will return to local communities, and this research will also facilitate such local knowledge reaching the rest of the world, thus closing the research loop.”
This project will kick-start an ongoing circular, ever-expanding pathway tochar or network of pathways from the south east of Ireland, mirroring the international travels of Irish monks in early medieval Ireland and creating a research ‘Camino’ with signposts for future researchers. Tourism networks built during the study will be expanded through international linkages. Local businesses will benefit from visiting pilgrims needing food, accommodation, and guides, while other heritage and leisure attractions will also benefit from the increased activity.
Journey to PhD Research
Murray is familiar with the Camino de Santiago since 2003, as both a pilgrim and a volunteer. Her 2016 Master of Arts in Applied Spirituality dissertation was a qualitative study of a local/micro pilgrimage in the memory of St Begnet as a spiritual resource. The social embeddedness of her research was a natural precursor to her PhD studies.