Thomas J Finan,
PhD FSA

Associate Professor of Medieval History & Archaeology  ·  Saint Louis University

"Learning is a beneficial occupation. It makes a king of a poor person. It makes an accomplished person of a landless one. It makes an exalted family of a lowly one. It makes a wise person of a fool. Its commencement is good. It is respected in this world. It is precious in the next."

— Aldfrith of Northumbria, c. 800
About Teaching Research Media Projects AI Consulting Contact

About

Scholar.
Excavator.
Builder.

Thomas J. Finan is Associate Professor of History at Saint Louis University and Director of the Walter J. Ong Center for Digital Humanities. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) and a member of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. His research focuses on medieval Ireland — particularly the history and archaeology of the borderlands of the Shannon River in County Roscommon during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Since 2008 he has been an invited delegate of the Château Gaillard International Castle Studies Conference, and in 2019 became the first American member of its Comité Permanent. His book manuscript Fortress of Past and Present: Moylurg, the MacDermots, and the Rock of Lough Key is under contract with Liverpool University Press.

At SLU he chairs the College of Arts & Sciences AI Task Force and directs a center dedicated to the intersection of humanistic inquiry and emerging digital technologies — work that has led to a consulting practice helping schools and universities navigate artificial intelligence with clarity and confidence.

Thomas J. Finan at the Rock of Lough Key

Saint Louis University · Collins Chapel

Thomas J. Finan examining finds at the Rock of Lough Key excavation
Twenty years of excavation at the Rock of Lough Key — the island stronghold of the MacDermot kings of medieval Ireland. Rock of Lough Key · Co. Roscommon
Book Manuscript

Fortress of Past and Present

Moylurg, the MacDermots, and the Rock of Lough Key. Under contract, Liverpool University Press. ~107,000 words synthesizing twenty years of excavation with documentary history of Gaelic lordship in medieval Connacht.

Book · Brepols, 2017

The King's Cantreds

Politics, Ethnicity and Identity on the Thirteenth Century Irish Frontier. Turnhout: Brepols, 2017. A major study of Gaelic political identity and territorial organization on the medieval Irish frontier.

Edited Volume · Four Courts Press, 2009

Medieval Lough Cé

History, Archaeology, and Landscape. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2009. Interdisciplinary collection on the historical, archaeological, and environmental dimensions of Lough Cé and its surroundings.

Book · BAR / Archaeopress, 2004

A Nation in Medieval Ireland?

Perspectives on Gaelic National Identity, 1200–1400. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, Archaeopress, 2004. An examination of national identity formation in Gaelic Ireland through bardic poetry and political culture.

Article · Château Gaillard, 2018

The Rock of Lough Key and the Moated Site at Rockingham

"Components of a Lordly Landscape." Château Gaillard: Études de Castellologie Médiévale 28 (2018). Analysis of the two principal monuments of the MacDermot lordship as an integrated landscape system.

Chapter · UCC Press, 2018

MacDermot Identity in the Thirteenth Century

In Fitzpatrick and Horn, Becoming and Belonging in Medieval Ireland, UCC Press, Cork, 2018. Examination of how the MacDermot kings constructed and projected identity through patronage, genealogy, and territorial control.

Full Publication List at Academia.edu →

The Ong Center develops research platforms, digital tools, and pedagogical resources at the intersection of humanistic inquiry and emerging technology. Current projects include:

Oir Platform

A linked data knowledge graph for Irish archaeological and historical sources. JSON-LD / IIIF annotation architecture harvesting ~6,500 excavation reports from Connacht.

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GaeBolga

Open-source geophysical survey system combining resistivity, magnetometry, and ERT on Raspberry Pi. Five units in active deployment for the NGA Geospatial Workforce Pilot.

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Léigenn

An AI-powered platform for learning Old Irish, companion to graduate seminars and designed to preserve the human interpretive dimension of a complex medieval language.

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Lough Key 3D

Medieval landscape visualization using Three.js and Copernicus DEM data, reconstructing the historical terrain of the Rock and its island setting on Lough Key.

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STL Neighborhoods

Student fieldwork platform for HIST 3939 integrating Dublin Core JSON-LD metadata, Leaflet maps, and Sanborn fire insurance map overlays of St. Louis neighborhoods.

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AI Task Force

Chaired the College of Arts & Sciences AI Task Force, producing a faculty handbook, policy framework, and DELTA grant submission for AI in humanistic education.

Consulting →

Dr. Finan teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of History at Saint Louis University, spanning medieval history, digital methods, and the social history of St. Louis. He advises doctoral students in medieval history — prospective applicants are encouraged to reach out directly.

Undergraduate Survey
Origins of the Modern World
Department survey course tracing the political, religious, and cultural transformations that shaped the modern world from antiquity through the early modern period.
HIST 3939
Neighborhoods of St. Louis
Social history fieldwork course using GIS, archival sources, Sanborn maps, and community documentation to investigate the built environment and history of St. Louis neighborhoods.
Undergraduate / Graduate
Medieval Ireland
History and archaeology of medieval Ireland with attention to Gaelic political structures, the church, bardic culture, landscape, and material culture of the island.
Undergraduate / Graduate
Castles in History and Archaeology
Survey of castle studies from origins to decline, integrating architectural history, documentary evidence, and archaeological field methods across medieval Europe.
Graduate Seminar
Medieval British Isles
The medieval British Isles within the context of the Angevin and Plantagenet Empires — political culture, identity, and the frontiers of English expansion.
Graduate Seminar
Digital History & Spatial Analysis
Introduction to digital humanities tools for graduate students: GIS, linked data, text analysis, geophysical survey methods, and digital publication platforms.

AI Consulting

Helping Institutions
Navigate AI

Dr. Finan brings a rare combination — deep institutional experience managing AI policy alongside hands-on technical expertise building AI-integrated platforms. He helps schools and universities move from anxiety to confident, values-aligned action.

Policy Development

Institutional AI policy frameworks built around your school's mission and culture, not off-the-shelf templates.

Faculty Workshops

Practical, interactive sessions that move faculty from uncertainty to classroom-ready strategies.

Student Literacy Programs

Age-appropriate seminars that equip students to engage with AI thoughtfully and critically.

"Most institutions are being asked to make high-stakes decisions about AI with very little support. That's where I come in."

— Thomas J. Finan

Full Services & Details Get in Touch
Documentary · HECTV, 2018
True Gaelic: Uncovering Medieval Ireland
Feature documentary on the Rock of Lough Key excavations and MacDermot lordship. truegaelic.com
Television · History Channel
Clash of the Gods
Contributor to multiple episodes including Beowulf, Thor, and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Audio Course · The Modern Scholar
Citadels of Power: Castles in History and Archaeology
Full lecture course on the history and archaeology of the medieval castle narrated by Dr. Finan.
Television & Radio
KSDK · KWMU · RTÉ Ireland
Regular appearances on local and national television and radio discussing medieval history, castles, and Irish archaeology.
White Paper Series
The Algorithm and the Self
Ong Center White Paper Series on AI, knowledge production, and humanistic education. Saint Louis University, 2025.
Conference · Château Gaillard
Comité Permanent Member
First American member of the Comité Permanent of the Château Gaillard International Castle Studies Conference. Delegate since 2008.

Contact

Get in Touch

For research collaborations, speaking invitations, media inquiries, or consulting engagements.

thomas.finan@slu.edu

Walter J. Ong Center for Digital Humanities
Department of History
Walter J. Ong Center for Digital Humanities
Department of History · 3800 Lindell Blvd
Saint Louis University · St. Louis, MO 63108