Paul Irish

Consultant Archaeologist
BA (Archaeology) University of Sydney
MA (Prehistoric Archaeology) University of Copenhagen [Denmark]

I work in and around Sydney as a consultant archaeologist dealing with Aboriginal archaeology. As part of my job I conduct archaeological surveys and excavations, and research the Aboriginal history and archaeology of areas proposed for some kind of development. I have also always had a strong interest in Aboriginal history and have run a historical research program at Sydney Olympic Park as well as doing research in my own time.

I am particularly interested in the Aboriginal archaeology and more recent Aboriginal history of the Sydney area because it’s where I grew up and also because there is still so much to be told about this area. I am constantly involved in finding previously undocumented Aboriginal sites and forgotten pieces of historical information that help us better understand what happened to Aboriginal people in the years after the arrival of Europeans. It is also very interesting how much knowledge is still held by Aboriginal people today.

I am currently running two research projects in the Sydney area. One looking at post-European contact Aboriginal sites in the Sydney region and another looking at the archaeology and Aboriginal history of the Kurnell Peninsula in southern Sydney.