Lillis Ó Laoire is currently Head of School for Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the National University of Ireland, Galway. His teaching and research interests include the Irish language, Celtic culture, and folklore. He has won national awards for his traditional singing in the Irish Language and has published in the area of Irish song studies, including a monograph on the singing of Tory Island, Ireland. His biography of Joe Heaney, co-written with Sean Williams, won the Alan P. Merriam Prize in 2012.