These are just some of the questions asked by Ireland’s latest cohort of ERC awardees. Seven researchers based in Ireland were among the awardees in the latest round of starting grants from the European Research Council (ERC). This round of grants is estimated to create around 3,000 jobs in the awardees’ teams. Plenty of research has shown that personal memories are malleable, changing and reshaping over time and with new experiences. One exciting aim is to catch some of the culprits behind infamous epidemics recorded in the medieval Irish annals.