February 2021
 February 2021 News and updates on the programme of commemorations relating to the events in Irish history that took place between 1912 and 1923. If you would like to inform us of any suitable material for future newsletters – anything related to the Decade of Centenaries – please feel free to email [email protected]. Decade of Centenaries Schools Irish History Competition for Primary and Post-Primary Schools 2021 As part of the ‘Decade of Centenaries’ commemorations, the Department of Education is inviting schools and students at all levels of primary and post-primary schools across Ireland, in the 2020/2021 school year, to enter the annual schools’ history competition. The selected themes have a particular link to events of a century ago across the island of Ireland. Topics This year, at both primary and post-primary levels, projects are invited under the following general headings. Please note that all categories can incorporate a local/regional studies theme: Revolution in Ireland – a study of a political/revolutionary event from the 1912–1922 period, a particular aspect of the event, or an individual/group/organisation associated with it. As with the other categories, this can incorporate a local/regional studies theme. Ireland and the First World War – a study of the Irish experience of the war from the perspective of an individual or group. This could involve a focus on a particular battle, an individual participant’s story or a consideration of the entire 1914–1918 period. Women during the revolutionary period in Ireland – a study of a particular individual/group/organisation/movement striving to improve the quality of women’s lives or involved in revolutionary activity in Ireland in the 1912–1922 period. War of Independence – a study of a political/revolutionary event from the 1919–1921 period, a particular aspect of the event, or an individual/group/organisation associated with it. Civil War – a study of a particular individual/ organisation/ group/ movement/ event during the civil war in Ireland and its impact. The deadline for receipt of completed projects is 30 April 2021 with the winners being announced, and prizes awarded, before the end of September 2021. FULL DETAILS HERE ———————————————————————– President Higgins will host the second “Machnamh 100” seminar – “Empire: Instincts, Interests, Power and Resistance” on 25th February. The second seminar in the series will include consideration of European Empires following the First World War, the British Empire in particular and imperial attitudes and responses to occurrences in Ireland. It will also include reflections on examples of resistance to Empire in Ireland and resistance to nationalism. The main reflection will be given by Professor John Horne, Trinity College Dublin, who will provide an overview of the international context of the events in 1920s Ireland, including the fall of empires and the particular status/power of the British empire. There will be responses from President Higgins, Professor Eunan O’Halpin (Trinity College Dublin), Dr Marie Coleman (Queen’s University Belfast), Professor Alvin Jackson (University of Edinburgh) and Dr. Niamh Gallagher (St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge). REGISTER HERE ———————————————————————– Digital Repository of Ireland Launches New Series on Using Digital Archives for Academic Research Using Digital Archives for Historical Research The first webinar in the series, ‘Using Digital Archives for Historical Research’, will take place on 23 February 2021 at 3:00pm. Speakers will include: Dr Ciarán Wallace, Deputy Director (Public Engagement Lead) at Beyond 2022: Ireland’s Virtual Record Treasury, Dr Siobhán Doyle, who will be sharing how digital materials from collections in the DRI and the Bureau of Military History have informed her historical research, and Tara Doyle and Stephanie Rousseau from Dublin City Library and Archives (DCLA) who will be highlighting DCLA digital collections. REGISTER HERE ———————————————————————– The Reconciliation Fund supported Spring Talk Series, in conjunction with Dr Éamon Phoenix and other noted historians, are now available to block book. The lectures will be via Zoom live from Clifton House on Thursday evenings, commencing 25th February. Each lecture will last approximately 45 minutes followed by a Q&A session. Please note the pre-sale is for a block booking for attending all five lectures via Zoom. Tickets for individual lectures will be available after our pre-sale. Please note that all talks, with the exception of 25 February, will begin at 7pm. Zoom codes are unique for each talk and will be sent out on the morning of the event. REGISTER HERE ———————————————————————– Reinterpreting Museum Collections of the Irish Revolution A seminar by Dr Siobhán Doyle (Technological University, Dublin) as part of the Contemporary Irish History Seminar Series in association with Trinity Long Room Hub. Wednesday, 3 March 2021, 4 – 5pm REGISTER HERE ———————————————————————– An invitation to the launch of ‘A Time to Remember: A Journey of Reconciliation’ by Sr Maeve Brady RSM, which takes place on Wednesday, 10 February, at 7.30 pm on MS Teams. We are called to ethical and inclusive remembrance. Sr Maeve attempts to respond to the challenge personally, in a project relating to all sides at Clonfin. Her project will be launched by Dr Suzanne Mulligan, lecturer in Moral Theology in the Pontifical University, St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. The launch will be hosted by Longford County Library, Heritage and Archives Services and the link can be obtained by emailing [email protected]. WATCH HERE ———————————————————————– Katharine O’Shea centenary—what if she and Parnell never met? No other woman who never set foot on the island—with the possible exception of Queen Elizabeth I—has had a greater effect on the history of Ireland. But who was Katharine O’Shea (née Wood)? And what if she and Charles Stewart Parnell never met? Listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, discuss this contrafactual with Mary Kenny, Patrick Maume, Daniel Mulhall, and Margaret O’Callaghan. This Hedge School, supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative, was recorded via Zoom and is now available as a podcast. PODCAST AVAILABLE HERE ———————————————————————– ‘Spies and informers beware!’—intelligence and counterintelligence in the War of Independence One of the most important—and controversial—aspects of the War of Independence was the ‘intelligence war’. Given the role of spies and informers in defeating previous insurrections, it is not surprising that Michael Collins, the IRA’s Director of Intelligence, was keen to insure that history did not repeat itself. How successful was he? To shed light on this ‘shadow war’ listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Andy Bielenberg, Cécile Gordon, Eunan O’Halpin and Gerry White. This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative. PODCAST AVAILABLE HERE ———————————————————————– As part of the Westmeath County Council Decade of Centenaries programme, Ian Kenneally was appointed Historian in Residence for 2020. The residency is supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative, in partnership with Westmeath County Council. The goal of the residency is to provide the public with a trustworthy and enlightening source of information on Westmeath during 1920. Ian has been compiling a blog of events which took place in Westmeath during this period. BLOG AVAILABLE HERE ———————————————————————– As part of the Westmeath County Council Decade of Centenaries programme, applications are invited for the Historian in Residence Grant Scheme 2021. The Residency is supported by the Decade of Centenaries Programme, Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media in partnership with Westmeath County Council. DETAILS AVAILABLE HERE ———————————————————————– Over the coming months, Ireland’s Embassy and Consulates across the United States will join with the American Conference for Irish Studies & Irish Studies programmes to host a series of lectures and panels reflecting on the final years of this formative decade of centenaries. This first seminar in the series – ‘Was it for this’ – focuses on the aftermath to 1916, the renewal of Sinn Féin and the Irish Volunteers, the conscription crisis, the election of 1918 & the First Dáil. Hosted by Boston College, in association with the ACIS New England Region & the Consulate General of Ireland in Boston, it features a range of outstanding scholars – Marjorie Howes (Boston College); Rob Savage (Boston College); Fearghal McGarry (Queens University); Bridget Keown (University of Pittsburgh), and Mike Cronin (Boston College) – as well as Ireland’s Ambassador Daniel Mulhall. WATCH HERE ———————————————————————– Ministers Martin and Humphreys announce release of more historic records online. An additional year of historic Births, Marriages and Deaths are now available to view on the website www.irishgenealogy.ie The records now available online include: · Birth register records – 1864 to 1920 · Marriage register records – 1845 to 1945 · Death register records – 1864 to 1970 Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, T.D., welcomed this latest release: This release of register data by the Civil Registration Service is part of the ongoing partnership between my Department and the Department of Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands. I know that this annual update is eagerly anticipated and will be of great benefit to anyone carrying out research on their Irish Ancestry. Minister for Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands, Heather Humphreys T.D., (which has responsibility for the Civil Registration Service) emphasised: I am delighted that the Civil Registration Service has provided another year of historic Birth, Marriage and Death register entries to the www.irishgenealogy.ie website. I trust that this information will be of great use to anyone with an interest in genealogy and may act as a spur to those who would now like to start their own family history research. ———————————————————————– New Publications When women are erased from history, what are we left with? Between 1912 and 1922, Ireland experienced sweeping social and political change, including the Easter Rising, World War I, the Irish Civil War, the fight for Irish women’s suffrage, the founding of the Abbey Theatre, and the passage of the Home Rule Bill. Women and the Decade of Commemorations, edited by Oona Frawley, highlights not only the responsibilities of Irish women, past and present, but it also privileges women’s scholarship in an attempt to redress what has been a long-standing imbalance. Contributors discuss the importance of addressing missing history and curating memory to correct the historical record when it comes to remembering revolution. Together, the essays in Women and the Decade of Commemorations consider the impact of women’s unseen, unsung work, which has been critically important in shaping Ireland, a country that continues to struggle with honoring the full role of women today. BUY HERE ———————————————————————– |