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Wednesday 2 March 

‘Douglas Hyde’s ideology of de-anglicising the Irish nation: inspiration, input and impact, 1874–1922’ – Liam Mac Mathúna

Douglas Hyde delivered his celebrated lecture, ‘The Necessity of De-Anglicising the Irish Nation’, to the National Literary Society in Dublin in November 1892. In this he forcefully articulated his intellectual case on behalf of Irish. This lecture is widely acknowledged as a pivotal moment in the history of the language, one which helped to inspire the founding of the Gaelic League the following year. Drawing on Hyde’s private diaries and public writings, this paper analysed the processes whereby he came to acquire the Irish language and embrace its values through interaction with its speakers, and how his personal experiences led him to champion the country’s national culture. Having explored the path leading to the 1892 lecture, this paper will consider the effectiveness of Hyde’s subsequent leadership of the language movement as President of the Gaelic League (1893–1915) and the impact of his ideology on the adoption and implementation of pro-Irish policies by the British authorities and an independent Irish state.

Wednesday 9 March

‘Prof. Eleanor Knott (1886-1975): Irish scholar and lexicographer’ – Chantel Kobel

This lecture reflected on the influential career of Prof. Eleanor Knott, one of the first women to be made a member of the Royal Irish Academy, and her important contributions to scholarship in the area of Celtic Studies.

 

Wednesday 6 April

‘Gaedhilg na haimsire seo’: writing processes and culture in Irish language print media 1909-1920’ – Regina Uí Chollatáin

The title refers to an article written in 1909 which reflects the orthographical challenges of this period which dictated much debate in language usage in the public sphere of the media. This talk presented an overview of the themes, content and Irish language journals between 1910-1920, examining the impact of developments in Irish language print media on the intellectual life and on the understanding of culture and identity. This is particularly relevant in the context of Intellectual life in Ireland during this period where Revivalist ideology and the language movement helped to make new developments a reality. New writing practices and processes which evolved as a result of new writing styles and print forums were central to the creation of an Irish reading public and a modern Irish literature.

 

Wednesday 27 April 

‘The triumph of failure’: Desmond Ryan (1893-1964): writing the history of the Easter rising’ – Lawrence White

The writings of Desmond Ryan (1893-1964) were particularly influential in shaping the story of the Easter rising and its participants through the first half of the twentieth century. This talk explored the historiography of the rising through the work of Desmond Ryan.

 

Wednesday 4 April

‘The Academy in a decade of revolution’ – Mary E. Daly

This lecture looked at the membership of the Academy c. 1910 – the Academy’s current research projects and intellectual interests – such as the National Museum – and how this evolved over the decade. In the paper Professor Daly also discussed the decision to expel Eoin MacNeill from the Academy, and his reinstatement.

Wednesday 11 May

‘The great need of modern Ireland is to be re-united with its past … through the intellectual cultivation of the country’: the latter days of the Celtic Revival in Ireland’ – Nicola Gordon Bowe

This lecture examined the work of leading participants in the Celtic Revival in Ireland in the second decade of the twentieth century, and explore the intellectual environment that underpinned the movement in its latter days.