Erin Bishop obtained her M.A. and Ph.D. in history from University College Dublin. Her doctoral thesis was the first in-depth portrayal of Mary O’Connell, wife of the Liberator. Her research led to the publication of two books, The World of Mary O’Connell and My Darling Danny.

Erin’s professional life includes a long career in museum interpretation, education, exhibits, and historic research. Upon leaving UCD, she served as a Historic Programs Specialist for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Sites Division, where she developed interpretive programming for many of Illinois’ twenty-eight historic sites, visitor centres, and house museums. From 2005-2009, she served as the Director of Education for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. In this position, she established the Education Division, facilitated school tours (approximately 97,000 students per year), created teacher education workshops, and organised special events and public programs.

Upon relocating to Maine, she served as a consultant to numerous museums and historic sites, as well as the director of Maine Archives and Museums, a professional association representing some 300 collecting institutions in Maine. Leaving the museum world behind, she currently works as the Director of Communications for the Town of Falmouth, Maine, where she still puts her skills of research, writing, and breaking down complex topics for easy consumption - skills developed during her time in Ireland - to work in policy development, grant writing, and public communications.