Editorial

Abstract

Editorial A strong Editorial Board is essential to the success of any academic journal, especially one (such as this) with a broad remit spanning several disciplines and distinct periods. Comprising highly respected scholars, and supported by an International Advisory Board, the Editorial Board of the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy plays an important role. Through regular meetings and correspondence with the editors and Publication Office staff, its members guide strategic thinking on the direction and promotion of the journal, and help with the acquisition of high-quality material, both by actively promoting it as a venue for publication and by their association with it. Their wide-ranging and complementary expertise in the journal’s core subject areas, often combined with extensive experience as editors of both journals and books, ensures that the editors of Proceedings are in the comfortable position of having access to ready expert advice on, for example, such matters as identifying suitable readers for a paper, and on guiding it through the peer review and editorial process. Up to now the Editorial Board had been renewed incrementally through invitation. When a position was due to become vacant, the board discussed what areas of expertise needed to be strengthened and sought to identify who would best be placed to do so. Individuals were nominated by the board whose recommendations were then considered the Academy’s Publications Committee. While this method has worked well, there is a lot to be said for casting the net wider. It can be difficult for Editorial Board members to judge on availability and there is always the danger that candidates who may have a lot to contribute get overlooked inadvertently. For these reasons the board of Proceedings readily embraced the Academy’s new policy of issuing Open Calls when the membership of editorial boards requires renewal. The first call was issued earlier this year with a deadline for expressions of interest in July. It outlined the journal’s remit, highlighted the forthcoming thematic issue on Climate and Society, and the ­ importance of expertise in helping further to enhance the journal’s impact factor. A large number of submissions were received from highly qualified individuals , far more in fact than the places available at this time. The interest shown by leading scholars with a range of disciplinary specialisms is very heartening and attests to the high standing of the journal both nationally and internationally . The selection process will, of course, be guided by the need to maintain the balance in terms of disciplines and periods as this is essential for the board to fulfil its core functions. We hope that future calls will attract similar interest, including from the individuals who could not be accommodated on this occasion , and we thank them all sincerely for their responses. If the first call is any Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Vol. 119C, vii–ix © 2019 Royal Irish Academy doi: https://doi.org/10.3318/PRIAC.2019.119.10 Editorial viii indication, this new system will facilitate incremental renewal of the Editorial Board, thereby helping to secure the future of the journal. The quality of contributions to the current volume is another illustration of the journal’s status as a leading outlet for research in Irish archaeology, history, literature and cognate disciplines. Gandois and colleagues demonstrate that some of the copper axe-ingots produced in southwest Ireland at the start of the Bronze Age were traded along the Atlantic seaboard of north-west France, a discovery with wide-ranging implications for our understanding of prehistoric connections between these regions. There follows three papers on medieval­ ecclesiastical matters, one by a historian and two by archaeologists. Against the background of similar processes in Britain and the Continent, Paul MacCotter reviews the emergence of the parish system in Ireland and argues that aspects of the system of pastoral care established by AD 1100 survived in the high medieval parish structure, especially in areas that remained in Gaelic hands. Elizabeth Fitzpatrick considers the character of cathedral-centred communities in Gaelic areas and argues that the urban–rural paradigm that tends to dominate interpretations of such sites is unhelpful because their development was governed by different values. Tracy Collins...