Thursday 31 May 2018

Irish Military Seminar in Newbridge, Kildare, 8-9 June

An Irish Military Seminar is to be held at the Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge, County Kildare, on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th June.

Hosted by Kildare County Council and the Kildare Decade of Commemorations Committee, the seminar will explore many aspects of Irish military history, drawing chiefly on events and personnel from within Ireland but also exploring some escapades in South Africa, Flanders and the USA.

Everyone is welcome, but booking is necessary. The Friday evening's activities are free to attend, while the Saturday lecture programme attracts a €5 fee and includes tea/coffee.

The programme is as follows:

Friday
5:00pmThe Glen of Imaal Disaster 1941, with Terence O’Reilly
5:50pmReadings from the Leb, with Martin Malone
6:35pmReception in foyer of Riverbank Arts Centre
7:00pmOpening of the Seminar by Mayor of Co. Kildare, Cllr. Martin Miley
7:15pmBook Launch: Witness to War Crimes, by Colm Doyle
8:00pmWho Fears to Speak of '22? The politics of Commemoration. Panel discussion. 

Saturday
8:45amRegistration - Tea/Coffee
9:20amWelcome
9:30amZulu. The Defence of Rorke’s Drift, with Dan Harvey
10:20amThe Role of Women in the Struggle for Irish Freedom 1918-1923, with Liz Gillis
11:05amTea/Coffee break
11:35amThe forgotten letters of Ireland’s American Civil War dead with Damian Shiels
12:25pmOliver Cromwell and the conquest of Ireland, with Professor Micheál Ó Siochrú
13:10pmLunch - at own expense
14:30pmGranuaile – Grace O’Malley: Ireland's Pirate Queen (1530-1603), with Anne Chambers
15:20pmThe significance of Irish involvement in World War I: A review, with Neil Richardson
16:30pmClose of seminar

Booking is essential.