The Cumann Merriman Summer School 2016

‘Gallant allies in Europe’

Dates: 29 June to 2 July (Wednesday to Saturday).
Theme: ‘Gallant allies in Europe’.
Location: Glór, Ennis, County Clare.
Honorary Director: Pat Cox, President, European Parliament 2002-2004.
Academic Director: Dr Bríd Quinn, University of Limerick.

Registration

There is no pre-registration for Cumann Merriman Schools. Just come to the registration at 19.00 on the first day!
If you only want to come to individual sessions that’s fine; just come and pay at the door.
Events at Merriman Schools often sell out however, so if you’re interested in a particular session you might wish to make a reservation. This can be done through Glór, either online or by ringing their box office on 065 684 3103.
Also, please note that day rate is not available this year.

Programme

Download the 2016 Summer School programme in PDF format.

Wednesday 29 June

11.00-16.00

Slógadh na Boirne, Ceiliúradh na Gaeilge i gContae an Chláir.
Ionad Mhíchil Cíosóg, An Carn, Co. an Chláir.
Press release for Slógadh na Boirne.
Download the Slógadh na Boirne programme
(PDF format).

19.00

Welcome and registration

20.00

Opening of the School: Liam Ó Dochartaigh, Cathaoirleach, Cumann Merriman.
Introductory Remarks: Bríd Quinn
Lecture: Our Gallant allies in Europe: a Marriage of Convenience?
Professor Diarmaid Ferriter.

Thursday 30 June

10.00-12.00

Alliances with Europe
History Ireland Hedge School with Hiram Morgan, Sylvie Kleinman, Angus Mitchell & Mike Cronin with Tommy Graham

12.15

Cúirt An Mheán Lae: Biddy Jenkinson
Á cur i lathair ag Máire Ní Neachtain

15.00

Panel: ‘Exaltation among the nations’: Our women & men in Europe – former MEPs
Nuala Ahern, Sean Ó Neachtain, Emer Costello
Cathaoirleach: Jillian van Turnhout

20.00

Panel: ‘To find the answering voices that they seek’: Ireland (North & South), Britain and Europe – in the aftermath of the UK referendum
Professor Mary C. Murphy, Steve Aiken MLA, Brian Hayes MEP
Cathaoirleach: Pat Cox

Friday 1 July

10.00-12.00

Painéal: ‘Cad é sin don té sin?’: Éire, an Bhreatain agus an Eoraip
Seán Kelly FPE, Liadh Ní Riada FPE, Éamon Ó Cuív TD, Harry Mc Gee, An tOllamh Mike Cronin
Cathaoirleach: Liam Ó Dochartaigh

12.15

Cúirt an Mheán Lae: Brian Lynch

15.00

Panel: ‘For years untold her youth will shine’: Generation Maastricht: the youth perspective
Facilitated by David Garrahy with Valerie Molay and Cárthach Ó Faoláin
Cathaoirleach: Pat Cox

20.00

‘Cradling dreams’ – Cultural Perspectives
Marina Carr and Mick O’Dea
Introduced by Doireann Ní Bhriain

Saturday 2 July

10.00

Seimineár: ‘An Scríbhneoir i dTíortha Stráinséara’ Liam Mac Cóil
Cathaoirleach: Deirdre Nic Mhathúna

11.00

Seminar: Gallant Allies and Exiled Children: International aspects of the 1916 Rising
Ruán O’Donnell

12.15

Cúirt an Mheán Lae: Gabriel Rosenstock
Á chur I láthair ag Máire Ní Neachtain

15.00

Panel: As others see us: ‘Move lips, move minds and make new meanings flare’
Joachim Fischer, Francis Jacobs, Professor Eddie Moxon-Browne

20.00

‘The confluence of dreams’: Looking to the Future
Pat Cox, President European Parliament 2002-2004
Clabhsúr na Scoile: Liam Ó Dochartaigh

Speaker biographies

Steve Aitkin OBE MLA

Steve Aiken was born in County Antrim and worked for the UK government, latterly in Whitehall in the world of public policy before becoming the founding CEO of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce. He later joined the Educational Trust of Dublin City University as Chief Executive Officer and laid the groundwork for the launch in 2014 of the University’s largest fundraising campaign.

Seeking a new challenge Steve transitioned into politics and in May 2016 was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly as the South Antrim representative for the Ulster Unionist Party. Thus far he has been central to the party’s decision to form the first official opposition since 1972, serves as Deputy Chairperson for the Economy Committee and chairs the All-party working group on Science and Technology. He is the official Opposition Spokesperson on the Economy and supported the Remain IN campaign.

Nuala Ahern

Nuala is a former member of the European Parliament for Leinster (Green Party,1994-2004). Nuala was a member of Wicklow County Council from 1991-1994. She is a founder member of the Irish Women ‘s Environmental Network.

During 94-99 she was Vice President of the European Parliament Petition ‘s Committee and a member of the committee for Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy. From 1999-2004 she was Vice President of the Committee for Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, and a member of the Culture Committee.

She was the first Chairperson of Green Foundation Ireland 2011-2014) and is currently Editor of publications for GFI.

Emer Costello

Emer served as a Labour Member of the European Parliament representing the Dublin Constituency from 2012 until 2014. She is also a former Lord Mayor of Dublin and Dublin City Councillor.

In the European Parliament, Emer was a member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee and a substitute member of the Development Committee and the Special Committee Organised Crime, Money Laundering and Corruption.

She was also Chairperson of the Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council (DPLC). In that capacity she led several Parliamentary delegations to Palestine and Israel.

Before going into politics full time Emer worked as Programme Manager of the Education Service of Leargas, the Irish National Agency for EU Programmes in the field of education training and youth. She is now an independent Policy Analyst.

Emer is a member of the Dublin International Advisory Committee and the Board of Show Racism the Red Card. She is currently completing a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at the Dublin Institute of Technology.

Michael Cronin

Michael holds a Personal Chair in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Dublin City University, Ireland. He is author of Translating Ireland: Translation, Languages and Identity (Cork University Press, 1996); Across the Lines: Travel, Language, Translation (Cork University Press, 2000); Translation and Globalization (London, Routledge, 2003). Time Tracks: Scenes from the Irish Everyday (Dublin, New Island, 2003); Irish in the New Century/An Ghaeilge san Aois Nua (Dublin, Cois Life, 2005), Translation and Identity (Routledge, 2006); The Barrytown Trilogy (Cork University Press: Ireland into Film series, 2007); Translation goes to the Movies (Routledge 2009), The Expanding World: Towards a Politics of Microspection (Zero Books, 2012) and Translation in the Digital Age (Routledge, 2013). His work has been translated into more than fifteen languages.

He Is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, the Academia Europeae/Academy of Europe and is an Officer in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques. He was Irish Language Literature Advisor for the Arts Council of Ireland (2009-2011) and is a former Chairperson of Poetry Ireland.

Diarmaid Ferriter

Diarmuidis one of Ireland ‘s best- known historians and is Professor of Modern Irish History at UCD. His books include The Transformation of Ireland 1900-2000 (2004), Judging Dev: A Reassessment of the life and legacy of Eamon de Valera (2007), Occasions of Sin: Sex and Society in Modern Ireland (2009) and Ambiguous Republic: Ireland in the 1970s (2012). His most recent book is A Nation and not a Rabble: The Irish Revolution 1913-23 (2015). He is a regular broadcaster on television and radio and a weekly columnist with the Irish Times.

Joachim Fischer

Joachim studied at the universities of Mainz, Glasgow, Bonn and Trinity College Dublin and holds a doctorate from the latter. He is Senior Lecturer in German at the University of Limerick and Joint Director of the Centre for Irish-German Studies. He has published extensively on Irish-German relations, travel writing and utopian studies, his current main area of research is Irish perceptions of Germany. Among his major book length publications are The Correspondence of Myles Dillon: Irish-Germany relations and Celtic Studies (with John Dillon), The Irish image of Germany 1890-1939: History, form and function (Heidelberg: Winter) and As Others See Us Cork through European Eyes (with Grace Neville, for Cork European City of Culture, 2005). He is also co-editor of two book series, Irish-German Studies (WVT, Trier) and Ralahine Utopian Studies (Lang, Oxford). He is currently Course Director for the BA in European Studies and strongly involved in ERASMUS and co-op exchanges between UL and other EU member states.

David Garrahy

David is the Head of policy of the European Youth Forum – the voice of young people in Europe. Working on priorities such as youth employment, youth organisation development and youth political participation, he also oversees work in facilitating cooperation between young leaders and politicians at Member State level. Before this, he lead the Youth Forum’s campaign for the 2014 European Elections entitled LoveYouthFuture, which saw many candidates endorsing the Youth Forum election manifesto.

Tommy Graham

Tommyis a founder (1993) and editor of History Ireland magazine and convener of its lively Hedge Schools, an ongoing series of round table discussions of historical and contemporary interest, which debuted at the 2010 Electric Picnic. He lectures in history and politics at Griffith College, Dublin, and is founder and director of Historical Walking Tours of Dublin. A presenter of Newstalk ‘s ‘Talking History ‘, he ‘s also a regular contributor to the station ‘s Moncrieff Show.

Brian Hayes

Brianserved as a member of both Dail and Seanad for close to 17 years. In 2011 Brian was appointed as Minister of State at the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure & Reform, a position he held until his election to the European Parliament.

During his time as Minister of State, Brian attended Eurogroup, ECOFIN and Budgetary Council meetings on behalf of the Irish Government. As Minister of State in Ireland he was responsible for procurement reform, public sector reform, the Office of Public Works and developing flood alleviation projects in Ireland.

Brian was elected to the European Parliament in May 2014 for the Dublin Constituency. He is a full member of the Economics and Monetary Affairs Committee and a substitute member of the Development and Budget Control Committees. He is also a member of the European Parliaments delegation for relations with Iraq.

Francis Brendan Jacobs

Francis worked for the European Parliament from just before direct elections in 1979 until the end of April 2016. Much of his career was as a staff member on the European Parliament’s Committees on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy, on Rules and on Constitutional Affairs, as well as on the Temporary Committee on German Unification where he assisted Parliament’s lead rapporteur. From 2000-2006 Francis headed up the secretariat of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and took part in many UN Conferences on climate change. From 2006-2016 he was the head of the European Parliament’s Information Office in Ireland.

Francis had previously worked with Unilever in London and for an American trade association in Washington DC He is the co-author of the “European Parliament”, now about to come out in its 9th edition (with Richard Corbett and Darren Neville, John Harper Publishing). He was also the editor and principal compiler of a Longman’s reference book on “Western European Political Parties”. He has written many articles and chapters in books, most recently on “Agencies and the European Parliament” in “European Agencies in between Institutions and Member States” (editors Everson, Monda and Vos, Wolters Kluwer Publishers). He has also lectured frequently on the European Parliament and on other European Union matters both in Ireland and in many other countries. Among his specific areas of interest are democratic accountability of EU institutions, referenda and direct democracy, the EU legislative cycle, the EP role in EU nominations , electoral systems, European political parties and relations between national parliaments and the European Parliament.

Francis has a BA Degree in History and Law from Cambridge University and an MA Degree in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies(SAIS) at the Johns Hopkins University in Bologna and in Washington DC. He currently lives in Dublin and is married with one daughter.

Biddy Jenkinson

Biddy is a poet and short story writer> Coiscéim has published several collections of Jenkinson’s poems and of her short stories including detective tales where Pádraig ó Duinnín turns detective, as a break from his work on the dictionary. Her latest book ‘Táinrith’ is a version of Táin Bó Cuailnge from Méabh’s point of view.

Aisling Ghéar, Lab na Mainistreach, an Tadhbhdhearc, Aisteoiri an Spidéil, have produced plays by Jenkinson.

Ar ndóigh is beag is féidir a scríobh mar nóta beathaisnéise ar ainm cleite. Maithigí di.

Dr Sylvie Kleinman

Sylvie is a historian and translator who studied at the Sorbonne before moving to Ireland. She currently works in Dublin Castle. During her Irish Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at Trinity College from 2007 and 2009 she worked on the military career in France of Theobald Wolfe Tone, networking with some of the most prominent historians of the French Revolutionary wars in France. Sylvie has also introduced French perspectives on cultural nationalism and sites of memory into her teaching and lecturing.

Brian Lynch

Brian was born in Dublin in 1945. His first book of verse, Endsville, was shared with Paul Durcan and published in 1967. His first novel, The Winner of Sorrow, based on the life of the poet William Cowper, was published in Ireland in 2005 and in the USA 2009. His second novel, The Woman Not The Name, was published in 2013. His translation with Peter Jankowsky of Paul Celan: 65 Poems was published in 1985. New and Renewed: Poems 1967-2004 was published by New Island in 2004. He wrote the script for Love and Rage, a feature film directed by Cathal Black in 1998. His four-part drama, Caught in a Free State, about German spies in Ireland during World War 2, for which he won a Jacobs Award. Easter Snow – An Island Off Ireland, poems about photographs of Clare Island taken by Peter Jankowsky who also translated the poems into German, was published by Salmon Press, Galway, and die horen, Bremen, in 1992. Playtime, poems about paintings by Gene Lambert, was published in 1997. A long poem on Northern Ireland, Pity for the Wicked, was published in 2005 with a preface by Conor Cruise O’Brien. Tony O’Malley, the first of three books on the Kilkenny artist, was published in 1996 and in a new edition in 2004; Tony O’Malley, The Visual Diaries was published 2005; and Tony O’Malley Self-Portraits – A Centenary Exhbition in 2013, in collaboration with Ciarán Benson. On the nomination of Samuel Beckett and Michael Hartnett he was elected to Aosdána in 1985.

Angus Mitchell

Angus is a historian and cultural critic, who has spent the last twenty years investigating the life and legacy of the British consul and Irish nationalist intellectual, Roger Casement. This scholarship has helped to retrieve a vital moment in the history of human rights and the environmental tragedy underscoring the modern awakening of Amazonia and sub-Saharan Africa. Through his engagement with action research, Mitchell has reconfigured one of the longest running controversies in World History concerning the authenticity of the ‘Black Diaries’, deposited in the UK’s National Archives (Kew). In recent years, Mitchell has extended his focus of interest to include the circle of anti-colonial activists and pacifists of the early twentieth century, who stood up to the oppressive excesses of modernization. In 2016, Mitchell published ‘One Bold Deed of Open Treason: The Berlin Diary of Roger Casement 1914-1916’. This is the final volume in his trilogy of works explaining the political rationale for the continuing presence of the ‘Black Diaries’. In 2016 he published 16 Lives: Roger Casement and has participated in public lectures and gatheringsduring th e1916 commerations.

Presently, he teaches classes on “Corporate Social Responsibility” in the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick. He sits on the editorial board of “History Ireland” and “Estudios Irlandeses” and lives in Limerick City.

Hiram Morgan

Born in Belfast in 1960, Hiram was educated at St Catharine ‘s College Cambridge and is now a senior lecturer at University College Cork. He has written Tyrone ‘s Rebellion (Royal Historical Society, 1993) and has edited Political Ideology in Ireland, 1541-1641 (Dublin, 1999), Information, Media and Power through the Ages (Dublin, 2001) and The Battle of Kinsale (Bray, 2004). He has worked on scholarly editions including Great Deeds in Ireland: Richard Stanihurst ‘s De Rebus in Hibernia Gestis (Cork, 2013) and Ireland 1518: Archduke Ferdinand ‘s Visit to Ireland and the Durer Connection (Cork, 2015). He was a founder and co-editor of History Ireland, Ireland ‘s illustrated history magazine. He is director of CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts of Ireland and is currently working on a biography of Hugh O’Neill, earl of Tyrone, for publication by the Royal Irish Academy.

Mary C. Murphy

Mary is a lecturer in politics and a Jean Monnet Professor in the Department of Government, University College Cork. Mary specialises in the study of the European Union and Northern Ireland politics. Her monograph Northern Ireland and the European Union: The Dynamics of a Changing Relationship was published by Manchester University Press in 2014. Her work has also been published in leading academic journals and she is a regular contributor to national and international conferences. In 2015, she was awarded a prestigious Fulbright-Schuman scholarship and was based at George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia. She is currently the President of the Irish Association for Contemporary European Studies (IACES).

Doireann Ní Bhriain

Doireann is a voice and presentation trainer and voiceover artist and an independent radio producer. Her first career was as a presenter and producer with RTÉ radio and television. She was a presenter and reporter on some of RTÉ ‘s flagship radio and television current affairs and features programmes through the 70s and 80s, before leaving in the late 90s to work in arts event management and consultancy for a number of years. She now passes her skills on to others through her training work, narrates TV programmes, and makes the occasional radio documentary.

Liadh Ní Riada

Is í Liadh an Feisire Eorpach de chuid Shinn Féin do thoghcheantair an Deiscirt. Déanann sí ionadaíocht ar Chúige Mumhan agus Deisceart Chúige Laighin.

Is poblachtach í Liadh, maraon le Máthair, fiontraí, gníomhaí pobail, scannánóir agus cainteoir dúchais Gaeilge. Tá conaí uirthí i nGaeltacht Chorcaí lena fear chéile agus triúr clainne, ach is sa Bhruiséil nó i Strasbourg a chaiteann sí a cuid ama i rith na seachtaine.

Is comhalta í Liadh don Choiste um Iascach, an Coiste um Buiséid, agus an Coiste um Chultúr agus um Oideachas.

Mick O’Dea

Mick was born in Ennis in 1958 and studied at the National College of Art and Design Dublin, the University of Massachusetts and Winchester School of Art in both Barcelona and Winchester where he was awarded a Masters in European Fine Art.He taught at The National College of Art and Design for sixteen years and has been a guest lecturer at Colleges in Ireland, the UK and USA.

He has had numerous exhibitions nationally and internationally and has been the recipient of many awards, the most recent being the Ireland US Council / Irish Arts Review Portraiture Award and the Royal Ulster Academy Portrait Prize.

He is President of The Royal Hibernian Academy, Chairman of An Post’s Stamp Design Advisory Committee, a member of The Board of Governors of The National Gallery of Ireland, Honorary member of The Royal Scottish Academy and an Honorary Fellow of The Anatomical Society.

He is currently painting the official portrait of the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins.

Dr. Ruan O’Donnell

Ruan is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Limerick and former Visiting Chair of Irish Studies, Notre Dame (2010-11). He is the author of numerous books on the history of Irish republicanism. His new title Patrick Pearse has been acclaimed as the ‘definitive biography, using a wealth of primary sources ….[which] establishes as never before the significance of Pearse ‘s activism all across Ireland ‘ (O’Brien Press). O’Donnell has contributed to the globally screened ‘1916 ‘ documentary series and his writings on Pearse have appeared in The Irish Times, New York Times and Irish Examiner. He is Co-General Editor of the ground breaking ’16 Lives ‘ publication series which re-examines the political contribution of the sixteen Irish republicans executed by the British for involvement in the Easter Rising. A noted public speaker, O’Donnell is a member of the ‘Universities Ireland Decade of Commemoration Committee ‘ and the Irish Manuscripts Commission.

Seán Ó Neachtain

Seán was a member of the European Parliament for the North and West Constituency from 2002 until 2009. A former member of Galway County Council, he represented the West of Ireland in Europe since 1994 when he was first appointed on to the Committee of Regions. He served on a number of committees in the European Parliament among them: the Industry Committee ; the Transport and Tourism Committee; the Fisheries Committee and the Committee with Special Relations with the Turkish Community in Cyprus .

He was President of the European Parliament delegation to Canada.

He was instrumental in making the Irish language a working language in the European Institutions .Seán is a native of Spiddal, Co. Galway.

Gabriel Rosenstock

Gabriel was born c. 1949 in postcolonial Ireland. Poet and haikuist, he is the author-translator of over 180 books, including books for children. His selected poems, from Cló Iar-Chonnacht, translated from the Irish by Paddy Bushe is Margadh na Míol in Valparaíso/ The Flea Market in Valparaíso. His latest title from The Onslaught Press, Oxford, is a volume of haiku in Irish, English, Scots and Japanese called Antlered Stag of Dawn. Gabriel is a member of Aosdána and a Lineage Holder of Celtic Buddhism.

Rugadh Gabriel i gCill Fhíonáin, Co. Luimnigh. Is údar-aistritheoir breis is 180 leabhar é, leabhair do pháistí san áireamh. Is ball d’Aosdána é. I measc na leabhar is déanaí uaidh tá Margadh na Míol in Valparaíso/ The Flea Market in Valparaíso, rogha dánta aistrithe ón nGaeilge ag Paddy Bushe, Cló Iar-Chonnacht a d’fhoilsigh, agus cnuasach haiku dar teideal Antlered Stag of Dawn, i nGaeilge, Béarla, Béarla na hAlban agus Seapáinis ó The Onslaught Press, Oxford.

Tá cónaí air féin agus a bhean Eithne i nGleann na gCaorach – ní fhacadar gleann fós ann ná caoirigh, a deir sé. Teilgfear dán dátheangach nuascríofa leis ar scáileán inniu, Mo Shaol Mar Scannán/ My Life as a Film.

Jillian van Turnhout

Jillian is a leading children’s rights advocate and a former Senator. In her 5 year term in Seanad Éireann, Jillian spearheaded a number of legislative changes to ensure children have a voice and place in Irish law. For over 12 years Jillian was a member and Vice President of the EU Advisory Body, the European Economic and Social Committee and represented the EESC on the EESC EU-China Round for over 6 years. Jillian was a member of the EU High Level Expert Forum on Mobility. Jillian is a co-founder of the European Youth Forum.

Jillian is involved with a number of not-for-profit organisations on a pro bono basis including as Vice Chair of European Movement Ireland, Chair of Early Childhood Ireland and Chair of Children in Hospital Ireland.She is a former Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance and former Chief Commissioner Irish Girl Guides and former President of the National Youth Council of Ireland.

Press release: The Cumann Merriman 2016 Summer School

Date of issue: Wednesday, 8th June 2016 (12:00 noon)

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To avoid a clash with Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in August, the Merriman Summer School is being held early in 2016 – from Wednesday 29th June to Saturday 2nd July, in Glór in Ennis. To accentuate the European dimension, the 2016 School is being organised in partnership with the European Parliament’s Irish office. The honorary director is Pat Cox, former President of the European Parliament, and the academic director is Dr Bríd Quinn of the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Limerick.

As is customary, the Merriman Summer School addresses a range of cultural, political and historical topics. In this year of commemorations the School’s theme, taken from the Easter Proclamation, is ‘Gallant allies in Europe’. Speakers will place the Easter Rising in its international context (the British Empire and the continent of Europe especially) and reflect on Ireland’s relationship with the United Kingdom and the European Union, 100 years after the events of 1916. These relationships have shaped and continue to shape Ireland’s development and during Merriman 2016, these relationships will be analysed by sitting MEPs, former MEPs, TDs, artists, authors, youth leaders, journalists and noted academics.

Recognising that the Summer School takes place immediately after the UK’s referendum on EU membership, there will be a special session to consider Ireland (North and South), Britain and the European Union – in the aftermath of the UK referendum, with Professor Mary C Murphy (UCC), Steve Aiken, MLA and Brian Hayes MEP. Ireland and Europe will be the focus of a wide-ranging discussion in Irish with Liadh Ní Riada MEP, Éamon Ó Cuív TD, Professor Mike Cronin (DCU) and Harry Mc Gee (The Irish Times). An innovation for 2016 is the focus on young people with a session on generation Maastricht being directed by David Garrahy of the European Youth Forum.

The keynote address, ‘Our Gallant allies in Europe: a Marriage of Convenience?’ on Wednesday, June 29th will be given by Professor Diarmaid Ferriter. A History Ireland Hedge School will consider a series of attempts to forge alliances between Irish nationalism and European powers from Hugh O’Neill through Wolfe Tone to Roger Casement. Ruán O’Donnell (most recent biographer of P. H. Pearse) will discuss transatlantic dimensions of the Rising.

The featured poets at ‘Cúirt an Mheán lae’ (The Mid-Day Court) will be Biddy Jenkinson, Brian Lynch and Gabriel Rosenstock. Contributors to the culture-themed sessions include the dramatist Marina Carr, artist Mick O’Dea and Liam Mac Cóil, author of historical fiction in Irish.

On Saturday July 2nd, there will be a chance to see ourselves as others see us when Joachim Fischer, Francis Jacobs and Edward Moxon-Browne share their observations on the Irish and Europe with a mixture of analysis and anecdote.

Pat Cox will conclude the proceedings of the 2016 Merriman Summer School, setting out possible future developments in the European Union and in the UK’s relations with the EU as well as highlighting implications, opportunities and challenges for us in Ireland.

There will be free entry to some sessions at the 2016 Merriman Summer School. Tickets can be bought for the entire School – at reduced rates this year – and also for individual sessions. Reservations may be made with Glór, either online or by ringing their box office on 065 684 3103.

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Press release: Slógadh na Boirne

START

Special Event: ‘Slógadh na Boirne’, a celebration of the Irish language in Clare
Location: Michael Cusack Centre, Carron, Co. Clare
Date: Wednesday 29 June 2016
Time: 11.00-4.00
Note: Entry to this is free of charge.

As part of the Ireland 1916-2016 commemorations, Cumann Merriman is organising Slógadh na Boirne, a special celebration of the Irish language in County Clare, in the Michael Cusack Centre in Carron on Wednesday 29th June.

This event is part of the national Irish language strand [An Teanga Bheo] of the official 1916 commemorative programme. The event is being organised in cooperation with teachers and pupils in schools and colleges in Clare and Limerick and with the Micheal Cusack Centre. Cumann Merriman is also being assisted this year from Clare County Council’s own Community Initiative programme commemorating the events of 1916.

There are two parts in the day’s programme: between 11.00 and 1.00 music, song, poetry and dramatic scenes in Irish will be presented by pupils from Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg, Ennis, Ballyea National School, Gaelcholáiste an Chláir and Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh. One dramatic piece, presented by pupils from Gaelcholáiste Mhíchíl Cíosóg, is based on a story written by Pádraig Pearse [Eoghainín na nÉan] and the other [Éirí Amach na Cásca], presented by puils from Ballyea National School, was an award-winning entry in this year’s Irish language schools’ drama festival.

In the afternoon from 2.00 to 4.00, a selection of music from the Irish Revival era will be played by Clare musicians, Siobhán Peoples, Caoilfhionn Ni Fhrighil, Francis Ó Cuinneagáin and Eve Ní Chonchúir. The music will be interspersed between two short talks in Irish, the first by Dr Eilís Ní Dheá (Mary Immaculate College) on the Irish language in Clare during Michael Cusack’s youth (he was born in 1847), and the second by Dr Cathal Billings (UCD) a Dublin hurler, on Michael Cusack and the Irish language in the early years of the GAA.

It is anticipated that this will be an enjoyable event, a fitting celebration of County Clare’s strong Irish language and Irish cultural and sporting heritage from the time of Michael Cusack over 150 years ago right up to our own time.

There will be no charge for entry to this event; there will be room for the public as there will be a marquee on site.

The regular Merriman Summer School (also part of the Ireland 1916-2016 commemorations) will commence the same evening (Wednesday 29 June) in Glór in Ennis at 8.00 p.m. The theme this year is Gallant Allies in Europe (taken from the Easter Proclamation) and distinguished speakers at the Summer School will examine Ireland’s relations with the UK and the continent of Europe in 1916 and today in 2016.

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