February 2022
 February 2022 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]. 1. Lectures and Events (some require registration) Ireland 1922: Women in independence, partition and civil war From the handover of Dublin Castle, to the dawning of a new border across the island, to the fateful divisions of the civil war, a new book Ireland 1922 provides a snapshot of a year of turmoil, tragedy and, amidst it all, state-building as the Irish revolution drew to a close. On Tuesday, 1st February, 6-7pm, join Fionnuala Walsh, Lindsey Earner-Byrne and Mary McAuliffe, chaired by Darragh Gannon, to explore a turning point in Irish history; one whose legacy remains controversial a century on. They will discuss events during that year, how they impacted on the year and the creation of the new state, and consider what role gender has to play in this Decade of Centenaries. This event will take place online. It is free of charge and no booking is required. DETAILS AND LINK HERE Seeing Ireland Art, Culture and Power in Paris, 1922. 1922 was a seminal year for Ireland and Irish identity: the modern Irish state was founded; James Joyce’s Ulysses was published in Paris; and the Irish Race Congress, an international conference and accompanying Irish art exhibition that was a reckoning of Irish identity politics, was held in the French capital. [See below in the newsletter for a recent History Ireland podcast about the Irish Race Congress] As part of the decade of centenaries commemorations an ambitious series of interlinked events and exhibitions will take place in the Midwest US, Ireland, and European capitals in 2022 to reflect on the events of 100 years ago, to examine the journey Ireland and Irish identity have travelled over the past century of statehood, and to look ahead to Ireland’s next century. An online webinar was held on 28th January to celebrate the launch of the new online exhibition ‘Seeing Ireland’ which will explore one of the most important events in Irish art history: Exposition D’Art Irlandais, held at Galerie Barbazanges in Paris in Jan-February 1922. Guest speakers included H.E. Vincent Guérend, French Ambassador to Ireland, Mick O’Dea, PPRHA, Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh, ARHA, Billy Shortall, Angela Griffith, Ciaran O’Neill. The event also featured a short virtual tour of the 3D recreation of the original exhibition space developed by NoHo Design This event was organised in partnership with Trinity Long Room Hub. Support is being provided by the Irish Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Decade of Centenaries programme. VIEW THE EXHIBITION HERE Ulysses Journey 2022 The 100th anniversary of the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses takes places on 2nd February. In light of the importance to Dublin and Ireland of this milestone in world literature, as well as its significance to Paris and France, the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland (CMC) and Centre Culturel Irlandais (CCI) present an international celebration across Ireland and Europe from February to June 2022. DETAILS HERE Sport and Strife: The Civil War and the rise of Kerry’s Greatest Football Team Killorglin Archive Society Presents The first event in its Decade of Centenaries’ Commemorative Programme 2022: ]Sport and Strife: The Civil War and the rise of Kerry’s Greatest Football Team A lecture by Dr. Richard McElligott CYMS, Killorglin Saturday 5th February, at 12 noon Commemorating the role of the GAA in Kerry and the bitter legacy of the Civil War, a Kerry team emerged as a powerful symbol of the how sports can transcend the deep social divisions of war. At the time, the Kerry team comprised of men who represented both sides of the Civil War’s ideological divide. The team’s stunning national success over the next decade is now widely celebrated as an example of healing and unifying power through sports. Dr McElligott’s lecture features the stories of the incredible gestures by footballers from both the Free State and Republican sides: for example, the Kerry captain, Con Brosnan, a Free State officer during the war, ensured safe passage to games for the republican, anti-Treaty players such as John Joe Sheehy and Joe Barrett. Following the cessation of the Civil War, Kerry won the All-Ireland with a team of men from both sides of the political divide. Special guests of the Killorglin Archive Society will be members of the Barrett, Brosnan and Sheehy families. Dr Richard McElligott is a native of Stacks Mountain, Kilflynn. He was awarded his PhD from UCD in 2012 for his thesis on the early history of the GAA in Ireland. His first book, Forging a Kingdom: The GAA in Kerry, 1884-1934 was published in 2013. Since then, Richard has written extensively on the history of the GAA and cultural nationalism, the Irish Revolutionary era, and the connections between all three.Richard’s current position is Lecturer in Modern and Irish history in the Department of Business and Humanities in Dundalk Institute of Technology. In March, Killorglin Archive Society’s 2022 programme features the premiere of Hunger Strike, a play written in 1929 by former Killorglin native Máirín Cregan. The play is based on her own experiences during the Civil War when her husband, one of the founders of Fianna Fáil, Dr. James Ryan, went on hunger strike for 36 days while interned in the Curragh in 1923. Entry to the event on Saturday 5th February is €10 and all are welcome. For further information, email [email protected] Antrim – the Irish Revolution, 1912-23 The Antrim and Down Branch of the Western Front Association and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) are delighted to welcome a presentation by author, journalist and historian, Dr Brian Feeney on his recent book ‘Antrim – The Irish Revolution, 1912-23’, published by Four Courts Press. Wednesday, 9 February, 7-8pm This event is taking place on Zoom. Registration closes one hour before the event and an invite link will be sent to everyone registered one hour before the beginning of the event. DETAILS & REGISTRATION HERE Irish Civil War to Irish Free State Irish Civil War to Irish Free State is an online panel discussion exploring post Anglo-Irish Treaty Ireland, from the split in the Irish Nationalist movement to guerrilla war and the establishment of the country that would eventually be known as the Irish Republic. On 16th February join leading academics Liz Gillis, Professor Henry Patterson, Dr Síobhra Aiken (see Publications section below for details of her new book) and chair Dr Adrian Grant as they traverse Ireland’s struggle to achieve ‘freedom’. DETAILS & REGISTRATION HERE Burning the Big House ‘Burning the Country House’ Online Lecture Series A series of lectures hosted by the Centre for the Study of Historic Irish houses and Estates, History Department, Maynooth University. The lecture series is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Historical Strand of the Decade of Centenaries Programme. These talks run in tandem with the exhibition Burning the Big House: The Story of the Irish Country House in Revolution, 1920-23, curated by Professor Terence Dooley and hosted by the Irish Architectural Archives from 21 March to 29 April 2022, and Maynooth University Library in May 2022. Tickets to attend the lecture series are FREE but those wishing to make a donation to the CSHIHE research programme can do so by selecting the donation option when registering for your ticket. SCHEDULE OF LECTURES Two lectures will be delivered live: the inaugural lecture by Terence Dooley on 24 March 2022 and the last in the series by Christopher Ridgway on 19 May 2022. The remaining six lectures will be pre-recorded and aired according to the following schedule. 2 4 MARCH Terence Dooley Burning the Big House: the story of the country house during the Irish Revolution, 1920-23 31 MARCH Ann O’Riordan Revolution, agrarianism and the burning of Ballydugan House, Co Galway, 1922 7 APRIL Jean Young ‘A barbarous mania of incendiarism’: house burnings in Co Louth, 1921-23 14 APRIL Ciarán Reilly ‘A smouldering mass of charred stones’: The burning of country houses in Offaly, 1920-1923 21 APRIL Gemma Clark Munster’s ‘Campaign of Fire’: Big House burnings in Counties Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford, 1922–23 28 APRIL Glascott Symes ‘Ours must go in time’: the burning of Sir John Keane’s Cappoquin House, Co Waterford 5 MAYRobert O’Byrne The ruined Irish country house: reality and perception 12 MAY Olwen Purdue ‘Such troubled times’: the burning of big houses in Northern Ireland 1921-1981 19 MAY Christopher Ridgway Ablaze! Fire and the country house: a perspective beyond Ireland DETAILS & REGISTRATION HERE 2. Exhibitions/Projects The ‘Decade of Centenaries’ All Island History Competition for Primary and Post-Primary Schools 2021/2022 DETAILS HERE Studio and State The Laverys and the Anglo-Irish Treaty Studio & State: The Laverys and the Anglo-Irish Treaty, is a co-curated exhibition by Hugh Lane Gallery and the National Museum of Ireland. It marks the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921. Studio & State is located at: National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. DETAILS HERE The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives Presented by the National Archives in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy, the National Library of Ireland and the Office of Public Works, with records from the collections of the Military Archives, Dublin and University College Dublin Archives. In the Coach House Gallery, Dublin Castle. Exhibition launch: 6 December 2021 Exhibition dates: 7 December – 27 March 2022Opening hours: 10am – 5pm, daily Admission free. DETAILS HERE 3. Podcasts Dublin Castle has fallen! The handover, 16 January 1922 ‘Dublin Castle has fallen!’—the handover, 16 January 1922 Under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, a Provisional Government, led by Michael Collins, was to oversee the transition of power until the Irish Free State formally came into being in December 1922. What was involved in the ‘handover’ that took place on 16 January 1922? Who was involved and what were their roles? To address these and related questions join Tommy Graham in discussion with John Gibney, Kate O’Malley, Edward Madigan, and Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc. This Hedge School is supported by the Office of Public Works. LISTEN HERE Centenary of the Irish Race Congress, Paris, 21-28 January 1922 Within weeks of the ratification of the Treaty by Dáil Éireann an ‘Irish Race Congress’ assembled in Paris representing Irish organizations from twenty-two countries. Inevitably the Treaty split overshadowed its proceedings. Did global Irish experiences moderate or radicalise expectations of Irish independence? What legacy did Irish sovereignty bequeath to the historical memory of the Irish diaspora? To address these and related questions join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with David Brundage, Darragh Gannon, Donal McCracken, and Anne Marie O’Brien. [See below in the newsletter for details of The Split, which contains an article by Darragh Gannon on the Irish Race Congress] LISTEN HERE The Treaty—good deal or bad deal? Was the Treaty ‘Home Rule for slow learners’? Why was Eamon de Valera not part of the Irish delegation?Was the subsequent Civil War inevitable? Was it a good deal or a bad deal? To address these and other questions join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with John Gibney, Brian Hanley, Mary McAuliffe, and David McCullagh. PANELLISTS John Gibney is Assistant Editor with the Royal Irish Academy’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series and author (with Kate O’Malley) of The handover: Dublin Castle and the British withdrawal from Ireland, 1922 (RIA, 2022). Brian Hanley is Assistant Professor in Twentieth-Century Irish History at Trinity College, Dublin. Mary McAuliffe is Assistant Professor in Gender Studies at University College Dublin. David McCullagh is a broadcaster and author of a two-volume biography of Eamon de Valera:DeValera Volume 1: Rise 1882-1932 (Gill Books, 2017) and DeValera Volume 2: Rule 1932-1975 (2018). This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative. AVAILABLE HERE 5. Publications AVAILABLE HERE COMING JUNE 2022/ MORE DETAILS HERE COMING AUGUST 2022/ MORE DETAILS HERE AVAILABLE HERE Carlow County Council Decade of Centenaries Committee published a commemorative 16 page supplement on the Treaty in The Nationalist. Some limited copies are still available. Email [email protected] for details. This book illustrates the 1922 handover of power by the outgoing British administration to the Provisional Government of Ireland led by Michael Collins in early 1922. The handover fell between the Treaty split of January 1922 and the outbreak of the Civil War in June 1922 and is usually overshadowed by both. The book bridges this gap by telling a relatively unfamiliar but hugely important story. BUY HERE Ireland 1922 provides a snapshot of a year of turmoil, tragedy and, amidst it all, state-building as the Irish revolution drew to a close. BUY HERE The fourth volume in the History Ireland commemorative series on aspects of the Irish Revolution. The Treaty, Civil War and partition profoundly shaped the Ireland in which we live. To mark the centenary of the Treaty and Civil War, History Ireland has produced a special supplement, The Split: From Treaty to Civil War 1921–23, featuring historians and writers. The Split introduces ground-breaking articles on women and the Treaty, the role of Eamon de Valera, the establishment of the Gardaí, the dead of the Civil War, the global reaction to Ireland’s independence, and the violence inside the new Northern Ireland state and along the border. It discusses controversial questions regarding Michael Collins and military dictatorship, why the Free State won the Civil War and how Northern Ireland came into being. It looks at how the war has been remembered and asks whether the era of Civil War politics has ended. Featuring contributions from:President Michael D. Higgins / David McCullagh / Mary McAuliffe / Rob Delaney / John Gibney / Kate O’Malley / Darragh Gannon / John Borgonovo / Lar Joye / Kieran Glennon / Paddy Mulroe / Charles Townsend / Bill Kissane / John M. Regan / Robert Gerwarth / Elizabeth Malcolm / Niamh Puirséil / Alison Martin / John Dorney / Margaret O’Callaghan / Ciara Chambers / Caitlin White / Frank Barry / Brian Hanley / Theo Dorgan Available in newsagents and bookshops, or online at the link below. BUY HERE Follow us! Twitter: @Centenaries Facebook: @decadeofcentenaries https://www.decadeofcentenaries.com c. Decade of Centenaries 2021 |