Writing Is Easier in Company: Join the SETU PhD Writing Group
The writing group is part of a research project led by Breda Connell, a librarian at the SETU library on the Carlow campus, who is undertaking a PhD at University College Cork. Her research explores how library-based writing groups can support doctoral students.
Doctoral writing can be a lonely business. The thesis doesn’t write itself, the calendar fills up with everything except writing, and it’s easy to go weeks without talking to another person who understands what you’re in the middle of.
This is a peer-led doctoral writing group, which will meet here in the library. It will run from July to December 2026. The idea is simple: a regular, protected hour of writing time, in the company of fellow PhD researchers from across SETU.
How it works
The group will meet weekly in the library for one-hour writing sessions. There will be no presentations, no critiques and no obligation to share your work. Bring whatever you’re working on, and you just write for an hour. The structure and the company do the rest.
Because the group is peer-led, it belongs to its members. Participants shape how the sessions run.
Who can take part
The group is open to all SETU doctoral researchers:
- Full-time and part-time PhD students
- Students from any discipline
- Students at any stage of their doctoral studies, from first year to final write-up
Students from every SETU campus are welcome to apply. To get the most from the group, participants are asked to attend at least six sessions over the six months.
The research behind the group
A few things worth knowing:
- No research data will be collected during the writing group sessions themselves. The sessions are for writing, full stop.
- Participants who would like to contribute to the research can opt in to separate Lego® Serious Play® workshops, where they’ll be invited to reflect on their experience of writing together in the library. This is entirely optional.
- The study has received ethical approval from both University College Cork and South East Technological University.
Interested?
For further information, or to express your interest in taking part, contact Breda Connell at [email protected] or [email protected].