Editor: Dr Niall Brady
Book reviews editor: Dr Kelly Fitzgerald

The current rules will help contributors in their submissions of papers for consideration in the Journal. The rules replace all pre-existing guidelines for publication. The current rules will be available in the published journal from volume 144 (2014).

The Society is committed to Open Access publishing where necessary. Prospective authors should indicate if their submission is to be published under Open Access.

Peer Review

All papers will be peer-reviewed anonymously. The decision to accept a paper for publication will be informed by the peer reviewer’s report. The Honorary Editor reserves the right to decide whether and when papers are published, based on finding a suitable balance in each journal that reflects the interests of the membership.

What the RSAI looks for in a paper

Papers will be typically of regional or national significance, or of national significance with international interest. The manuscript should have a relevant national research question, a clear methodology, solid argumentation, with clear and coherent objectives and an historical/archaeological/cultural interpretation. The Society encourages use of the active voice, and awareness that papers are read by specialists and non-specialists alike.

On structure

Papers must conform to the following structural requirements:

• Papers must be more than 3,000 words in length and not more than 7,000 words in length, inclusive of references and endnotes. Miscellanea will be typically 1,000 words in length.
• Papers must include titles and abstracts (200 words).
• Papers must include bibliographies in the required format, see below.
• Times New Roman font in 12 point is preferred.
• Figures and photographs must conform the required format, for which see below.
• Up to three figures (black-and-white/gray-scale line-drawings and photographs) can be included in short papers (3,000 words and less).
• Up to five figures (black-and-white/gray-scale line-drawings and photographs) can be included in longer papers (3,000─7,000 words).
• Miscellanea will typically accommodate a single non-colour illustration per submission.
• A single colour illustration is possible in longer papers only.
• Additional paper length and/or illustrations must be paid for by the author. The specific costs will be agreed with the Honorary Editor.
• Authors will be responsible for acquiring all copyright permissions prior to publication, where necessary.

On references and conventions:

The Journal follows essentially the conventions of Irish Historical Studies, with some minor emendations. These can be downloaded from, www.irishhistoricalstudies.ie.

The following technical points apply:

• Use only single spacing between words and sentences.
• Use only single spacing for trigger numbers and endnotes, which in the text should always follow the last mark of punctuation.
• Leave no space between a number and a unit of measurement, e.g. 5m.
• Numbers, as in dates and page references, should be separated by an n-dash (not a hyphen) where necessary.
• Two levels of heading within the text is permitted, principal headings in bold type, and sub-headings in italic type.
• The first paragraph of an article and all paragraphs following on immediately from a heading or sub-heading are not indented.
• Indentation should be achieved by one key stroke or use of the tab key.
• Do not justify text; align all text to the left.
• Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references.

On illustrations:

• A list of captions must be provided for all illustrations.
• All illustrations will be numbered sequentially in a paper, as Fig. 1 and following.
• Authors are to indicate in their manuscript where the optimum location of the illustration should be located, but when submitting papers the text is to be separate from the illustrations.
• Illustrations must be of good design and quality, and be of sufficiently high resolution for printing.
• Electronic images must be in .tiff or .jpeg format, with line-drawings and site plans in .eps format.
• The minimum scanning resolution for line drawings is 1200 dpi, for half tones 600 dpi and for colour images 300 dpi.
• Render all black-and-white and half-tone photographs sufficiently sharply to permit good print quality.
• Supply all colour images as CMYK, not RGB.
• Ensure that all hyperlinked files are available in a readily accessible folder.
• When designing illustrations, be mindful of the printed space available for reproduction. The maximum area for any one illustration is 210mm by 170mm, but it is usual for the printer to elect for half-page and quarter-page formats.
• Use the figure captions for figure titles, not the artwork.
• All captions within the artwork should use a sans serif font, and preferably Arial.
• Be mindful of font size and allow for legibility when the image is reduced.
• Design to avoid unnecessary blank space, and unnecessarily heavy or thick line and font weights.
• A ruled border for maps, plans and sections is a matter of taste, but is required when drawn detail extends to the limits of the drawing, as on maps.
• A drawn scale is required on plans and sections, a drawn north point is required on plans.

On transmission

Authors must send their papers electronically to the Honorary Editor. Text must be sent as Word files, using either .doc or .rtf. Tables can be sent as Excel files, using .xls or .ods. Authors must also include a .pdf copy that includes both text and images, to ensure that specialty fonts and other customized settings are conveyed accurately.

A paper that does not meet the structural requirements will be returned to the author, who will be responsible to make the changes needed before the paper is considered for peer review.

On schedule

Prospective authors must meet the following schedule of the year prior to publication for consideration in the forthcoming volume:

• Authors must send their papers in full to the Honorary Editor on or before 1st February.
• Referees must return peer-review reports to the Honorary Editor on or before 1st April.
• The Honorary Editor will issue decisions on papers to authors on or before 1st May.
• Authors whose papers are accepted for publication must return all corrections to the Honorary Editor on or before 1st June.

The Society will send the finished manuscript to its printers on or before 1st October for publication.

On communication

The Honorary Editor requests that all correspondence is electronically transmitted by email, where possible. To contact the Honorary Editor (2015-2019), please email: niallbrady100@gmail.com.

On dissemination

The Society is committed to disseminating its journal contents as widely and as easily as possible to the academic community.

Authors whose submissions are published will receive three hard-copy offprints free of charge. Additional hard copies can be supplied at the author’s cost, but must be ordered in advance of publication.

Authors will also receive a .pdf copy of their submission which they are free to send to colleagues, and to place on their personal web-pages for dissemination.

Open Access Gold standard submissions will be downloadable from the Society’s website.

The Society is currently part of the JSTOR Ireland collection, which means that the full contents of each journal is available electronically to JSTOR members four years following publication.

On subvention

The Society welcomes subventions to assist in meeting the costs of publication, and encourages authors to obtain them where possible. Submissions that exceed the requirements in terms of paper length and illustrations must be accompanied by subventions to cover the additional printing costs if the paper is accepted for publication. Open Access Gold standard papers must be accompanied by an article processing charge to cover the printing costs if the paper is accepted for publication.