The Cumann Merriman Summer School 2013

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

Ireland North and South: two societies growing apart?
Éire agus Ulaidh: ag dul a mbealach féin feasta?

Dates
14 to 18 August (Wednesday to Sunday).
Location
Lisdoonvarna, County Clare,
Director
Andy Pollak.

Welcome to the School

This year’s Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna, County Clare will will take a close look at politics, society and culture in the two Irelands over the past 15 years since the Good Friday Agreement.

Among the questions a range of distinguished speakers from both Irish jurisdictions will address are: Are the two societies in Ireland very slowly moving closer as the Good Friday Agreement intended or — as the Summer School’s title provocatively suggests — moving apart? Do they function in rather different worlds: the North struggling with its ancient bugbears of sectarianism and division, the South consumed by debt and austerity? What are the implications of this for the nationalist aspiration of unity by consent? Is there an alternative form of nationalism to Sinn Fein’s that might accommodate this phenomenon? Are most people in the South now totally ‘switched off’ from the North and (if so) what are the future implications of this for both societies? Is there now, particularly among younger people, a kind of Southern Irish identity that excludes the North? Is there an emerging Northern identity? Is a new, more inclusive unionism emerging? What elements in culture, religion, society and the economy continue to act to bring the people of the island together — and how should policy-makers and other influential people be seeking to promote and encourage these? And on the international front: What would be the implications for both parts of the island if the UK were to leave the EU and Ireland were to stay in? What are the implications for the island of Ireland of moves towards Scottish independence?

Speakers will include politicians and poets, geographers and journalists, academics, economists and others. As always, there will be a healthy mix of discussion and debate, poetry and music and convivial company.

The 2013 Summer School’s Director is Andy Pollak, recently-retired Director of the Centre for Cross Border Studies in Armagh.

The opening address will be given by the Leader of Fianna Fáil, Mícheál Martin, TD.

Beidh fáilte romhat!

Thanks

Cumann Merriman wishes to thank all those who are assisting in the organisation and funding of the 2013 Summer School:

Programme

Venues

  • Registration, afternoon and evening sessions: The Pavilion Theatre.
  • Morning seminars and Cúirt an Mheán Lae: The Royal Spa Hotel.
  • Club Merriman (Wednesday): Local hostelries.
  • Club Merriman (Thursday): The Barn, Kilfenora. Bus transfer provided.
  • Club Merriman (Friday): The Royal Spa Hotel.
  • Club Merriman (Saturday): The Royal Spa Hotel.

Seamus Heaney and Michael Longley

  • Tickets available online now from Glór Theatre or from Cumann Merriman during the School.
  • The Glór boxoffice can be contacted on 00 353 65 684 3103 or at boxoffice@nullglor.ie.

Note: Participants are strongly advised to book accommodation well in advance of the School.

Note: It is not necessary to register for the whole School; anyone wishing to just turn-up for individual sessions will be very welcome. For more information ring us, during working hours, on .

Wednesday 14th

17.00
Registration at the Pavilion Theatre.
19.00
Reception at the Pavilion Theatre.
20.00
Opening of the School.
20.30
Lecture: Are Ireland and Northern Ireland growing apart? by the leader of Fianna Fáil, Micheál Martin TD.
22.30
Club Merriman (local hostelries).

Thursday 15th

10.00 Seminar 1
A Personal View of a Possible Ireland Beyond my Time, with Sir Kenneth Bloomfield.
11.00 Seimineár 1
Tábhacht an Tuaiscirt do Phobal an Deiscirt, with Niall Ó Dochartaigh.
12.15
Cúirt an Mheán-Lae: Poetry Reading with Gearóid Mac Lochlainn, an Irish language poet.
15.00
Panel. Two women’s views, North and South
Our Country also: the Outsider in Contemporary Ireland, with Susan Mc Kay.
The Challenges of Reconciliation, with Gladys Ganiel.
20.30
Panel: An Anglican and Catholic view of religion and society in the two Irelands.
Archbishop Richard Clarke and Geraldine Smyth.
22.30
Club Merriman (The Barn, Kilfenora).

Friday 16th

10.00 Seimineár 2
Suim nó patuaire thrasteorann?, with Póilín Ní Chiaráin and Cathal Goan.
10.00 Seminar 2
Can culture and the arts be reconciling elements in an unreconciled Ireland?, with Fintan O’Toole and Edna Longley.
12.00
Cúirt an Mheán-Lae: Concertina recital with Jack Talty and Cormac Ó Beaglaíoch.
13.00
The Burren Smokehouse
Reception for Summer School attendees, sponsored by The Burren Smokehouse.
15.00
Panel. Can the Economy be a Reconciling Element Within and Between North and South?
Dan O’Brien and John Bradley.
20.30
Poetry.
Seamus Heaney and Michael Longley.
Tickets available online now from Glór Theatre or from Cumann Merriman during the School.
The Glór boxoffice can be contacted on 00 353 65 684 3103 or at boxoffice@nullglor.ie.
22.30
Club Merriman (The Royal Spa Hotel).
With the Armagh Rhymers and the Four Courts Céilí Band.

Saturday 17th

10.00 Seimineár 3
Cén rath atá ar an Ghaeilge Thuaidh agus Theas?, with Pol Ó Muirí and Róise Ní Bhaoill.
10.00 Seminar 3
Have young people turned away from all island identities and perspectives?, with Aoibhín de Búrca and Katy Hayward.
12.00
Cúirt an Mheán-Lae: Poetry Reading with Leanne O’Sullivan.
15.00
Panel.
We’re all minorities now: identity and escape in the new Northern Ireland, with Paul Nolan
Reconnecting civil society and people, with Niall Crowley and Breege Lenihan.
20.30
Panel: Young Politicians’ Round Table: the Future.
Chris Hazzard MLA, John McCallister MLA, Timmy Dooley TD, Councillor Neale Richmond, Emma Little and Councillor Rebecca Moynihan.
22.30
Club Merriman (The Royal Spa Hotel).
With the Four Courts Céilí Band.

Sunday 18th

11.00
Panel: The UK and international contexts: towards a disunited Kingdom and a European Union without Britain?.
Naomi Long MP and Marian Harkin MEP.
12.30
Burren Food Trail Brunch: a tasty selection of sweet and savoury treats from local growers, producers and chefs.

Speakers

Sir Kenneth Bloomfield
Kenneth served as a member of the Northern Ireland Civil Service from 1952 to 1991 in a range of posts, ending as Head of the Service from 1984 to 1991. Since retirement he has published four books, two of which, Stormont in Crisis and A Tragedy of Errors analyse the course of events in Northern Ireland since partition. With Frank Murray, a former Secretary to the Government, he is a Commissioner for the Location of Victims Remains (‘the disappeared’).
Dr John Bradley
John was formerly a Research Professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). He works as a consultant to the European Commission and to government ministries in the EU and elsewhere. In 2012 he co-authored (with Professor Michael Best) Cross-border economic renewal: re-thinking regional policy in Ireland.
Archbishop Richard Clarke
Richard is a native of Dublin and has been the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate since December 2012. Prior to his move to Armagh, he was Bishop of Meath and Kildare for some 16 years, having formerly served in Cork Diocese for more than 12 years. He has written in a number of contexts on the relationship between church and society in Ireland, including the book, A Whisper of God (2006).
Niall Crowley
Niall is an independent equality and diversity consultant. He was Chief Executive of the Equality Authority for ten years from its establishment in 1999. Prior to that he worked in the community and voluntary sector with Pavee Point and the Community Workers Cooperative. He is author of Broken Promises: Bringing the Equality Authority to heel (A&A Farmar).
Dr Aoibhín de Búrca
Aoibhín completed a PhD in Politics and International Relations at UCD last December that focused on the targeting of civilians during conflicts in Ireland and the Middle East. She was the convenor of The Agreement Generation conference in UCD (2010), which brought together younger politicians and academics to discuss the changed relationships between the two Irish jurisdictions. She is currently working as a researcher with RTÉ, but will be speaking in an independent capacity.
Timmy Dooley TD
Timmy is Fianna Fáil spokesman on transport, tourism and sport. Educated at Mountshannon National School, Scariff Community College and UCD, he has been a Fianna Fáil TD for Clare since 2007, and was a member of Seanad Éireann from 2002 to 2007. He is one of the party’s four vice-presidents and is vice-chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Dr Gladys Ganiel
Gladys is Assistant Professor and Programme Co-ordinator, Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin in Belfast. Her books include: The Deconstructed Church – Understanding the Emerging Church Movement (co-authored with Gerardo Marti, forthcoming), Evangelical Journeys: Choice and Change in a Northern Irish Religious Subculture (co-authored with Claire Mitchell 2011) and Evangelicalism and Conflict in Northern Ireland (2008).
Cathal Goan
Ard-Stiúrthóir RTÉ 2003 go 2010. Rugadh i gceantar Ard Eoin i mBéal Feirste. Chuaigh ag obair in RTÉ i 1979 tar éis céim sa Léann Ceilteach a bhaint amach i UCD. Seal ina léiritheoir ar Today Tonight, ina eagarthóir ar Cúrsaí, ina eagarthóir ar chláracha Gaeilge. Ceapadh mar chéadcheannasaí ar Teilifís na Gaeilge i 1994. Ceapadh ina Cheannaire Teilifíse i 2000.
Marian Harkin MEP
Marian has been an independent Member of the European Parliament for the North-West Ireland constituency since 2004. She worked for 24 years as a maths teacher in Sligo, and has had a lifelong involvement in voluntary and community affairs. She is a former Chairwoman of the Council for the West and was responsible for the campaign which led to the retention of Objective 1 Status for the west of Ireland. From 2002 to 2004 she represented Sligo/Leitrim in Dáil Éireann
Dr Katy Hayward
Katy is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Director of Education in the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work in Queen’s University Belfast. Her recent books include Political Discourse and Conflict Resolution (Routledge, 2012) and The Europeanization of Party Politics in Ireland, North and South (Routledge, 2010). She has recently been appointed a Board Member for Charter NI and the Centre for Cross Border Studies.
Chris Hazzard
Chris was the youngest Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly when he was co-opted last year as a Sinn Féin MLA for South Down at the age of 27. He is Sinn Féin’s Education Spokesperson in the Assembly and sits on its Education Committee and Public Accounts Committee. Having graduated from Queens University Belfast with an MA in Irish Politics, he is currently completing a PhD in Political Philosophy and International Studies at the university.
Séamus Heaney
Séamus was born and brought up in County Derry, has been called the most important Irish poet since Yeats (by Robert Lowell) and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. His books include Death of a Naturalist (1966), Door into the Dark (1969), Wintering Out (1972), North (1975), Field Work (1979), Station Island (1984), The Haw Lantern (1987), Seeing Things (1991), The Spirit Level (1996), Electric Light (2001), District and Circle (2006) and Human Chain (2010). He is the current Patron of Cumann Merriman.
Breege Lenihan
Breege is Chief Executive of the County Monaghan Community Network which has a large membership of groups who engage in peacebuilding, community and rural development at various levels in Monaghan, Armagh and beyond. She has extensive experience of mentoring and supporting community groups for over 30 years both as a volunteer and paid worker.
Emma Little
Emma is currently special adviser to the Northern Ireland First Minister, Rt Hon Peter Robinson. A qualified barrister, she has been active in politics since her time at Queen’s University Belfast where she was elected deputy president of the Union. She holds policy responsibility for community relations, regeneration and justice amongst others.
Naomi Long MP
Naomi is a civil engineer by profession, is the Alliance MP for East Belfast and Deputy Leader of the Alliance Party. From 2003 to 2010 she represented the same constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. In 2009 and 2010 she served as only the second woman Lord Mayor of Belfast. Last December Naomi was the subject of loyalist death threats following Alliance support for a Belfast City Council motion restricting the flying of the Union flag on City Hall to certain days.
Michael Longley
Michael is one of Ireland’s most distinguished contemporary poets. His books include No Continuing City: Poems 1963-1968; An Exploded View: Poems 1968-1972; Man Lying on a Wall (1976); The Echo Gate (1979); Poems 1963-1983; The Ghost Orchid (1995); The Weather in Japan (2000); Snow Water (2004); Collected Poems (2006); and A Hundred Doors (2011). He is currently completing his tenth collection of poems. He has edited the Selected Poems of Robert Graves, which will appear later this year.
Professor Edna Longley
Enda is a Professor Emerita at Queen’s University Belfast. She has written extensively on the literature and culture of Northern Ireland. Her most recent publications are (as co-editor) Modern Irish and Scottish Poetry (2011) and Incorrigibly Plural: Louis Mac Neice and his Legacy (2012).
Micheál Martin TD
Micheál has been Leader of Fianna Fáil since January 2011, succeeding Brian Cowen a month before the last Dáil election. He is also his party’s spokesman on Northern Ireland. He has been a TD for Cork South Central since 1989. Prior to becoming party leader he served as Minister for Education (1997 to 2000); Minister for Health and Children (2000 to 2004); Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment (2004 to 2008) and Minister for Foreign Affairs (2008 to 2011).
Councillor Rebecca Moynihan
Rebecca was first elected a Labour Party Councillor on Dublin City Council in 2009, representing the inner city of Dublin 8 and 12. During her time on the council she has focused on issues relating to urban regeneration and equality. She holds a degree in Media and Marketing and a Master’s in International Relations.
Gearóid Mac Lochlainn
Taibhfhile as Béal Feirste. Bhí an-rachairt in Éirinn agus thar lear ar a thríú leabhar, an cnuasach dhátheangach Sruth Teangacha/Stream of Tongues (2002). Mhol an Asheville Poetry Review i Meiriceá an strong, lyrical poet-activist voice and his informed irreverence and seeming fearlessness. B’iad Babylon Gaeilgeoir (1997) agus Na Scéalaithe (1999) an dá leabhar tosaigh uaidh.
John Mc Callister
John represents South Down in the Northern Ireland Assembly, and is a former deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party. He resigned from the UUP in February 2013 (along with Basil Mc Crea MLA) following a decision by the UUP to field a joint by-election candidate with the DUP. The two men launched a new liberal unionist party, NI21, in June. He is a former president of the Young Farmers Clubs of Ulster.
Susan Mc Kay
Susan is a writer and award-winning journalist from Derry, who now lives in County Dublin. She is well known as a commentator on politics, social issues and the arts in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. Her books include Sophia’s Story (1998), Northern Protestants – An Unsettled People (2000) and Bear in Mind These Dead (2007).
Róise Ní Bhaoill
Leas-Stiúrthóir an ULTACH Trust, eagras Gaeilge lonnaithe i mBéal Feirste. Ina heagarthóir ar fhoilseacháin éagsúla a bhaineann le dán na Gaeilge, agus údar sraith scéalta d’fhoghlaimeoirí fásta na Gaeilge. Ulster-Gaelic Voices: Bailiúchán Doegen 1931 an foilseachán is deireanaí uaithi, tuairisc eisiach ar chainteoirí dúchais Gaeilge fud fad Chúige Uladh sna 1930aidí. Ábhair thaighde eile aici an béaloideas agus aistriú teanga i dTír Chonaill, a contae dúchais.
Póilín Ní Chiaráin
Saoririseoir, craoltóir agus saineolaí ar Thuaisceart Éireann. Mórán blianta caite aici ag obair i nDoire agus i mBéal Feirste. Tamall ina comhfhreagraí ag RTÉ agus ina heagarthóir nuachta leis an mBBC, a sholáthraíonn anailís ar raidió, ar theilifís agus i gcolúin nuachtán. Tógadh i nGaeltacht Iorrais i gcontae Mhaigh Eo.
Paul Nolan
Paul is Research Director on the Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report, a project supported by the NI Community Relations Council and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. This project aims to provide regular commentary on Northern Ireland as a post-conflict society, and the second Peace Monitoring Report was published in April 2012. He is a former Director of the Workers’ Educational Association in NI and Director of the Institute of Lifelong Learning at Queens University Belfast.
Pól Ó Muirí
Rugadh i mBéal Feirste. Iriseoir agus scríbhneoir. Mórán scríofa aige do lear mór foilseachán, San am i láthair ina Eagarthóir Gaeilge ar The Irish Times. Cnuasaigh filíochta, gearrscéalta, novellaí d’fhoghlaimeoirí fásta na Gaeilge, agus beathaisnéisí foilsithe aige, agus craoladh drámaí raidió Béarla agus Gaeilge leis ar RTÉ.
Dr Niall Ó Dochartaigh
Léachtóir é Niall i Scoil na hEolaíochta Polaitiúla agus na Socheolaíochta in Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh. Tá mórán foilsithe aige ar choinbhleacht Thuaisceart Éireann agus ar an idirbheartaíocht, ar chríocha agus ar theicneolaíochtaí nua. Anailís á dhéanamh i dtaighde reatha aige ar idirbheartaíocht idir rialtas na Breataine agus an IRA.
Dan O’Brien
Dan is the Economics Editor of The Irish Times and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at University College Dublin. Until June 2010, he had been a senior editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit, an arm of The Economist newspaper group, for more than a decade. He has also worked for the external service of the European Commission and as a consultant for the United Nations and Forfás. His book Ireland, Europe and the World: Writings on a New Century was published in October 2009.
Leanne O’Sullivan
Leanne comes from the Beara peninsula in West Cork. She has published three collections, all from Bloodaxe: Waiting for My Clothes (2004), Cailleach: The Hag of Beara (2009), winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2010, and The Mining Road (2013). She was given the Ireland Chair of Poetry Bursary Award in 2009 and the Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Award for Irish Poetry in 2011, and received a UCC Alumni Award in 2012.
Fintan O’Toole
Fintan is a writer, the Literary Editor of The Irish Times, and one of Ireland’s leading political and cultural commentators. His books include A Mass for Jesse James (1990); Black Hole, Green Card (1994); A Traitor’s Kiss: The Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1997); After the Ball (2003); White Savage: William Johnson and the Invention of America (2005); Ship of Fools: How Stupidity and Corruption Sank the Celtic Tiger (2009); and Enough is Enough: How to Build a New Republic (2010).
Neale Richmond
Neale was elected as a Fine Gael councillor to Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in 2009 for the Glencullen-Sandyford ward. He served as the council’s youngest ever Leas-Chathaoirleach from 2010 to 2011. A graduate of UCD, he is currently employed in the not for profit sector having previously worked as an adviser in both Dáil Éireann and the European Parliament.
Dr Geraldine Smyth
Geraldine is is a Dominican from Belfast, working in both Dublin and Belfast as Associate Professor and Head of the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin. She holds a Ph.D. in theology from TCD and an honorary doctorate from Queens University Belfast for service to reconciliation and public life. She is interested in the practical intersections of theology and psychology, faith, culture and politics, particularly in dealing with the past, peacebuilding and reconciliation.
Jack Talty and Cormac Ó Beaglaoích
Jack and Cormac carry a wealth of musical heritage from west Clare and west Kerry respectively. The masterful weaving of regional styles inherent in their duet playing, ranging over five octaves, has defined their inimitable and unmistakable duet sound, a considerable achievement for two musicians still in their mid-20s. Their first album, Na Fir Bolg, has been highly acclaimed both nationally and internationally.

Press release

Date of issue: Friday, 12th July 2013 (12:00 noon)

School Summary

Theme
Ireland North and South: two societies growing apart?
Director
Andy Pollak.
Dates
Wednesday 14th – Sunday 18th August 2013.
Venue
Lisdoonvarna, County Clare.

START

This year’s School which, as usual, will be a thought-provoking and enjoyable mix of lectures and seminars, poetry and music, will take a close look at politics, society and culture in the two Irelands over the past 15 years since the Good Friday Agreement. It is directed by Andy Pollak of the Centre for Cross Border Studies in Armagh.

Among the questions a range of distinguished speakers from both Irish jurisdictions will address are: Are the two societies in Ireland very slowly moving closer as the Good Friday Agreement intended or — as the Summer School’s title provocatively suggests — moving apart? Do they function in rather different worlds: the North struggling with its ancient bugbears of sectarianism and division, the South consumed by debt and austerity?  What are the implications of this for the nationalist aspiration of unity by consent? Are most people in the South now totally ‘switched off’ from the North and (if so) what are the future implications of this for both societies? Is there now, particularly among younger people, a kind of Southern Irish identity that excludes the North? Is there an emerging Northern identity? And on the international front: What would be the implications for both parts of the island if the UK were to leave the EU and Ireland were to stay in? What are the implications for the island of Ireland of moves towards Scottish independence?

Among the speakers are Fianna Fáil leader Mícheal Martin, former head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Sir Ken Bloomfield, Marian Harkin MEP, Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Richard Clarke, Alliance East Belfast MP Naomi Long, director of the Irish School of Ecumenics Geraldine Smyth and journalists Fintan O’Toole and Dan O’Brien.

Cultural highlights of this year’s School include an evening of poetry with Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney and his friend and fellow poet, Michael Longley; mid day readings by poets Leanne O’Sullivan and Gearóid Mac Lochlainn; and a concertina recital by Jack Talty and Cormac Ó Beaglaoich. And of course there’s singing and dancing at Club Merriman in the evenings.

There is no need to pre-register for the School, which is open to everyone. People may register for the full School but are also welcome to attend individual events. Those coming for a few days are strongly advised to book accommodation in advance.

END