The Cumann Merriman Summer School 2001

Jump to: theme | programme | speakers | press release.

Research and Discovery: Of Knowledge and the People in the New Century

Location: Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare
Saturday 18 – Saturday 25 August 2001
Director: Professor Jim Malone, Dean of Health Sciences, Trinity College, Dublin

Programme

Venues

Spa Wells: Registration, Reception, lectures, seimineáir and set dancing classes
Burren Arts Centre (Ballyvaughan): Léacht — Éanna Ní Lamhna (22/8)
Convent School: Renew your Irish
National School: Introduction to Gaelic Clare
Royal Spa Hotel: Club Merriman
Burren Castle Hotel: Poetry reading (25/8)

Thanks

Cumann Merriman wishes to thank all those who have assisted in the organisation and funding of this School, in particular the Lisdoonvarna Merriman Summer School Committee, Clare County Council, Foras na Gaeilge and Bank of Ireland.

Lisdoonvarna Merriman School Committee

Marian O’Callaghan
Mary O’Flaherty
Chris O’Neill
Shawn Jordan

Saturday 18

17.00: Registration at Spa Wells
19.00: Reception at Spa Wells
20.00: Opening of the School; By John Hegarty, Provost, Trinity College, Dublin
20.30: Ways of Knowing 1; Introduction to the Theme of the School — Creativity, Intuition, Inspiration and Hard Work in Science and Literature: The Story of Knowledge; Willie Reville; Chair: Jim Malone
10.30 p.m: Club Merriman — Royal Spa Hotel. Music and sets

Sunday 19

12.00: Clare/Polka Sets and Two-Hand Dances 1; With Johnny Morrissey and Betty Mc Coy
15.00: Lecture — Terrible Beauty or Celtic Mouse: The Research Agenda for a Knowledge-Based Society; John Hayden & Ruth Barrington
20.30: Lecture — Bad Blood — Overwhelming Success and Catastrophic Failure: Leukaemia and the Blood Scandals; Shaun Mc&Cann; Chair: Jerry O’Dwyer
22.30: Club Merriman — Royal Spa Hotel. Music and sets

Monday 20

10.00: Seimineáir Ghaeilge 1; Niall Ó Cléirigh; Cathaoirleach: Liam Ó Dochartaigh
10.00: a) Renew Your Irish 1; Eoghan Ó hAnluain; b) An introduction to Gaelic Clare 1; Michael Mc Mahon
12.00: Sets and Two-Hand Dances 2
15.00: Lecture — The God Question and Science; Gabriel Daly; Chair: Willie Reville
20.30: Lecture — Issues at the Beginning and the End of Life; William Binchy; Chair: Camillus Power
22.30: Club Merriman — Royal Spa Hotel. Music and sets

Tuesday 21

10.00: Seimineár Ghaeilge 2; Aoibheann Nic Dhonnchadha; Cathaoirleach: Liam Ó Dochartaigh
10.00: a) Renew your Irish 2; Eoghan Ó hAnluain; b) An introduction to Gaelic Clare 2
12.00: Sets and Two-Hand Dances 3
15.00: Lecture — Pain and the Whole Person: Conventional, Holistic and Alternative Approaches; Camillus Power; Chair: Geraldine Connolly
20.30: Lecture — Health Promotion and Social Variation: There’s No Such Thing as Class in Ireland; Cecily Kelleher; Chair: Gabriel Daly; Club Merriman — Royal Spa Hotel. Music and sets

Wednesday 22

10.00: Turas — A geological and botanical tour of the Burren, led by Éanna Ní Lamhna; Léacht; Éanna Ní Lamhna, Burren Arts Centre, Ballyvaughan; Returning to Lisdoonvarna by 5.00 p.m.
20.30: Entertainment — From Bicycles to Molecules: an Evening in the Company of Myles na gCopaleen and the Third Policeman; Dermot Diamond and Martin Croghan
22.30: Club Merriman — Royal Spa Hotel. Music and sets

Thursday 23

10.00: Seimineár Ghaeilge 3; Cathaoirleach: Liam Ó Dochartaigh
10.00: a) Renew your Irish 3; Eoghan Ó hAnluain; (b) An introduction to Gaelic Clare 3
12.00: Sets and Two-Hand Dances 4
15.00: Ways of Knowing 3; Léacht — Towards an Epistemology of the Imagination; John O’Donohue
20.30: Lecture — The Weather: a Formative Influence on Culture and Civilisation; Brendan Mc Williams
22.30: Club Merriman — Royal Spa Hotel. Music and sets

Friday 24

10.00: Seimineár Ghaeilge 4; Cathaoirleach: Liam Ó Dochartaigh
10.00: a) Renew Your Irish 4; Eoghan Ó hAnluain; b) An introduction to Gaelic Clare 4
12.00: Sets and Two-Hand Dances 5
15.00: Lecture — Technology and Music: Instruments, Machines and the Spirit of Music; Dermot Furlong et al.; Chair: Doireann Ní Bhriain
17.00: Reception for participants; Host: Peter Doyle (EC)
20.30: Lecture — The Science of Mind: Neurosciences and the Soul; Maureen Gaffney
22.30: Club Merriman — Royal Spa Hotel. Music and sets

Saturday 25

10.00: Poetry Reading; Presented by Seán Mac Réamoinn, Doireann Ní Bhriain, Eoghan Ó hAnluain; Researched by Máire Ní Mhurchú

Speakers

Ruth Barrington: Chief Executive of the Health Research Board. Formerly medical adviser in the Department of Health. Publications include Health, Medicine and Politics in Ireland.
William Binchy: Regius Professor of Laws at TCD. Well-known writer, broadcaster and campaigner.
Geraldine Connolly: Psychologist with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. Geraldine is also an accomplished set dancer.
Martin Croghan: Senior Lecturer, School of Communications, DCU. Has published a cycle of studies on Irish writers. Latest work is Violence is Easy, Identity is the Problem.
Gabriel Daly: Augustinian priest, broadcaster and writer. Formerly lectured in TCD Theology Department. Has a particular interest in the science/theology interface.
Dermot Diamond: A Professor in Analytical Chemistry in Dublin City Univercity. Research Director of DCU Biomedical and Environmental Sensor Technology Centre and renowned traditional musician.
Peter Doyle: Director, Representation in Ireland of the European Commission.
Brian Farrell: Broadcaster and political commentator. Emeritus Professor of Politics, UCD.
Dermot Furlong: Lecturer in Electronic Engineering, Trinity College Dublin. Has developed a unique Masters programme in Multimedia, bringing together the arts, music and technology.
Maureen Gaffney: Chairperson, National Economic and Social Forum. Psychologist, writer, broadcaster and columnist. Works include The Way We Live Now.
John Hayden: Chief Executive of the HEA, which has played a key role in developing the national research infrastructure.
John Hegarty: Elected Provost of TCD in 2001. Previously Professor of Laser Physics and Dean of Research in Trinity College Dublin.
Cecily Kelleher: Professor of Health Promotion, UCG. Chair of the Women’s Health Council. Recent research includes the National Health and Lifestyle Surveys.
Shaun Mc Cann: Stokes Professor of Haematology, Trinity College Dublin. Consultant Haematologist/Oncologist at St. James’s Hospital. Medical Director of the Blood Transfusion Service Board 1995 – 96.
Betty Mc Coy: A long-established dance teacher who has played a central role in the revival and popularity of set dancing.
Michael Mc Mahon: Writer and local historian.
Seán Mac Réamoinn: Writer, broadcaster, commentator on religious and cultural affairs.
Brendan Mc Williams: Meteorologist and writer of a winning and informative daily column on the Irish Times.
Jim Malone: Dean of Health Sciences and Robert Boyle Professor of Medical Physics at Trinity College Dublin and St James’s Hospital. He is also a “tidy” set dancer.
Johnny Morrissey: Dance Master. Well known teacher and participant in set dancing, and a highly regarded concertina player.
Doireann Ní Bhriain: Broadcaster involved with arts and the media. Regular contributor to Merriman poetry readings.
Aoibheann Nic Dhonnchadha: An Assistant Professor in the School of Celtic Studies of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Researcher in Irish manuscripts and Irish medical texts 1400 – 1700.
Éanna Ní Lamhna: Botanist, entomologist and multi-talented broadcaster.
Máire Ní Mhurchú: Joint compiler with Diarmuid Breathnach of the acclaimed Beathaisnéis series. Máire has been the invaluable researcher behind numerous Merriman poetry sessions.
Niall Ó Cléirigh: General Practitioner in Dublin’s inner city. Well-known broadcaster and columnist.
Liam Ó Dochartaigh: Senior Lecturer in Irish, University of Limerick.
John O’Donohue: Writer, poet and contributor to the Celtic spirituality movement. Works include Anam Chara, Eternal Echoes, and a recent poetry collection Conamara Blues.
Jerry O’Dwyer: Executive Director of the Haughton Institute and formerly Secretary General of the Department of Health and Children.
Eoghan Ó hAnluain: Senior Lecturer in Irish, University College Dublin. Directed Merriman Summer School 1992, and 24 Winter Schools (1969 – 1992).
Camillus Power: Consultant Anaesthetist and key member of the Pain Clinic in Tallaght Hospital. Studied alternative and eastern approaches to medicine as well as conventional western methods.
Willie Reville: Senior Lecturer/Director of Electron Microscopy, University College Cork. Author of weekly Science Today column on the Irish Times, and of the recently published Understanding the Natural World — Science Today.

Press release

The Merriman Summer School 2001 takes as its theme, Slí an Eolais: Taighde, Forbairt agus an Pobal sa Chéad Nua — Research and Discovery: Of Knowledge and the People in the New Century.

The title refers to the fact that “knowledge” is becoming a more important and explicit part of our national life, whether it is discovered in scientific research or in a tribunal of enquiry. The knowledge now presenting itself to us is such that it may have a profound effect on our sensitivities and our lives, as well as impacting on politics and the economy. This may be, for example, with new findings in genetic engineering, the blood enquiries, information technology, the discovery of new approaches to medical problems, or the introduction of new pharmaceuticals such as Viagra.

A change of emphasis

To sustain the Celtic Tiger we aspire to having an economy that is knowledge — and research-based as opposed to manufacturing-based. In keeping with this, the national plan has committed expenditure of £1 to 2 billion on research — an amount which is unprecedented and which our infrastructure may not be able to absorb. Thus it is not surprising that most good newspapers and magazines now regularly cover science, medicine and IT as well as conventional political life.

The School will visit and explore several interrelated topics including:

Questions of the relationships between the Sciences, the Humanities and Religion.
The importance of research and new knowledge in the third phase of our economic development &‐ the knowledge-based society.
New knowledge and attitudes uncovered in the scientific/medical spheres in tribunals, enquiries and public controversy (e.g. the Lindsay Tribunal; GM food issues; cloning and genetic technology; IT and big brother).
The impact of ethics, values, legal issues, and the “God question” on life in general, and on the beginning and end of life in particular, in the new scientific/medical order.

Also at the School

And of course the week will be lightened with discussion of the weather, poetry, music and the scientific insights of Myles na gCopaleen, as well as the conviviality, singing and set-dancing at Club Merriman.