Mayo County Council is holding a major seminar on the Civil War on Saturday, October 8th as part of its Decade of Centenaries Programme. This will be a day-long series of talks on various aspects of the Civil War, held in Castlebar Courthouse. This seminar is part of the Wild Atlantic Words literary festival.
There will be talks by historians on various aspect of the war throughout the day – the national picture, the local aspects, the role of women, reconciliation etc. Speakers will include Professor Diarmaid Ferriter, Professor Linda Connolly, historian and author Dominic Price, Éamon Ó Cuív T.D., and former Minister for Justice Nora Owen. The seminar will be moderated by broadcaster, writer, lecturer and former senator Marie Louise O’Donnell, a great friend of the Wild Atlantic Words, and opened by Vice-Admiral (retd.) Mark Mellett DSM, who will also partake in Sunday Morning Coming Down (on Sunday at 12 noon in the festival dome).
Professor Diarmaid Ferriter is Professor of Modern Irish History in UCD and a weekly columnist with The Irish Times. His books include Between Two Hells: The Irish Civil War, which is a fascinating exploration of the Civil War and its impact on Ireland and Irish politics in the following half-century, rich in insights into how women and men experienced and responded to the calamity of the split and the tawdry violence that followed.
Professor Linda Connolly is Professor of Sociology and Director, Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute. She was the University of Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies Visiting Scholar during the Lent Term 2022. Her research interests include feminism, gender, family, conflict related violence, wars, migration, and Irish studies. She is the author of several recent publications including on the gender-based violence women experienced in the Irish Revolution (1919-23) and led the Irish Research Council funded 'Women and the Irish Revolution' project. She has published a number of books, The Irish Women’s Movement: From Revolution to Devolution (London and New York: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2003), Documenting Irish Feminisms: the Second Wave (with Tina O’Toole, republished in 2020, Galway: Arlen Press), Social Movements and Ireland (with Niamh Hourigan, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2006), The Irish Family (London: Routledge, 2014), and Women and the Irish Revolution: Feminism, Activism, Violence (Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 2020).
Historian Dominic Price, PhD student TCD, is the author of The Flame and the Candle, which is the definitive account of the War of Independence and Civil War in Mayo. Dominic grew up in Dublin’s Rathfarnham, close to Pádraig Pearse’s Scoil Éanna, and often visited his grandparents near Kilmainham Gaol. This sparked a lifelong interest in Irish history. He has served in the FCA, and is a member of Claíomh, a historical re-enactment group of the revolutionary period. A teacher of history, religion and music, he has a keen interest in traditional music and plays several instruments.
The final event will be a conversation between Éamon Ó Cuív T.D., grandson of Eamon De Valera, and former Minister for Justice Nora Owen, grandniece of Michael Collins, which will be a hugely symbolic event as we approach the end of the Decade of Centenaries commemorations.
The seminar will be accompanied by a display of rare items relating to the Civil War, which will be on loan from the Jackie Clarke Collection.
Austin Vaughan, Mayo Decade of Centenaries coordinator and member of the Wild Atlantic Words committee, explained, “The seminar will not seek to find a single agreed narrative on what was a very complex part of Irish history. Instead, it will try to find what the government's Expert Advisory Group on Commemorations describes as, ‘meaningful engagements with a difficult and traumatic time’. This will be our last Decade of Centenaries event and we hope it will be a very special affair.”
The seminar is free to the public but spaces will be limited.
Location: Castlebar Courthouse
3pm: Opening of seminar – Vice-Admiral (retd.) Mark Mellett DSM, PhD
3.15pm: Professor Diarmaid Ferriter – Between two hells – the Irish Civil War in context
4.15pm: Professor Linda Connolly – “Any man who takes revenge on a sister is not much”: Women’s experience in the Civil War
5pm: Author and historian Dominic Price, PhD Student TCD – The Civil War in Mayo
5.30pm: Éamon O’Cuiv T.D. and former Minister for Justice, Nora Owen – Reflecting on the Civil War
6.30pm: Close of seminar
Booking info: All events at this year’s festival are on a first come, first served basis. As some venues have limited availability, we'd recommend arriving early to secure a seat. All events are free of charge.