Wednesday, 13 February 2019

West Cork History Festival lectures free on Playback

The West Cork History Festival has been held in each of the last two summers in the grounds of Rosebank, next to the Liss Ard estate, about one mile outside Skibbereen. It's an idyllic setting and perfect for a long-weekend programme that has quickly become known for the quality of its speakers and its wide variety of topics exploring the local, national and international dimensions of Irish and Cork history.

Even its well-informed audience, which is never afraid to engage in some robust debate, especially if the topic covers the Revolutionary Era, has been recognised in the national press.

If you haven't been able to attend in person, you can now enjoy some of the lectures presented at the 2018 Festival. They are audio recordings, rather than videos, and they're available free of charge on Soundcloud. I can promise you a treat! Over the last two evenings, I've enjoyed Dr Susan Flavin's talk on food, drink and society in C16th Ireland; William Casey's talk on cillini in West Cork; Dr Ida Milne on the 1918-19 influenza pandemic in Ireland and Dr Brian Hughes exploring depictions and perceptions of Irish revolutionary violence, all of them wonderfully informative and thought provoking.

You'll find the full Playback list of 24 lectures here.

And you might like to make a note that this year's Festival will be taking place 8–11 August.