International Conference on Hunger
An international conference on hunger, featuring nearly fifty speakers—including Homi K. Bhabha, Terry Eagleton and Seamus Deane, among many others—will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine on 19 and 20 May 1995, at New York University’s Loeb Student Center. Sponsored by the Glucksman Ireland House, a centre for Irish Studies at NYU, the conference is open to the public.
Unprecedented in its size and scope, the conference brings together leading thinkers on the question of hunger worldwide, both historically and in the present, and will address three concentric themes: Hunger in Ireland 1845-53, World hunger and political economy, and Hunger and history: comparative perspectives. Under the direction of Robert Scally—professor of history, director of Ireland House, and author of The End of Hidden Ireland: Emigration and Famine 1830-1848 (Oxford 1994)—the conference begins by presenting new research on the Irish famine, but its ultimate aim is to address hunger in a comparative context in both time and geography.
Hunger is an experience both perennial and universal in world history, and the intellectual and ethical issues raised by episodes of extreme hunger, in which large populations perish from starvation and its attendant diseases, have remained remarkably unchanged for many centuries. Attribution of famine to divine displeasure and retribution early on has its counterpart in contemporary discourse about hunger, which is still entangled in essentially moral and cultural values that assign ‘blame’ to the victims themselves or to other agencies—such as political and economic ‘systems’, or individuals or social classes.
The discussion has been dominated by two themes: that the appearance of extreme want in the midst of relative plenty urgently requires a general explanation and that famine is a definitive characteristic of ‘backward’ societies, reflecting cultural, intellectual and moral faults. These perceptions originated in western Europe at the time of its last subsistence crises, the famine of 1845-53 in Ireland.
The food imbalance between plenty and want that characterised regional differences in European countries in the past now exists on a world scale, but this debate about its causes, control and implications for prosperous societies often still relies on the precepts applied more than a century ago. As in the past, this discussion draws on emotions, ideologies, religion and cultural traditions—that is, the territory of the humanities disciplines, which are divided on the fundamental issues and research methods involved. No conference on the subject of hunger as yet has been grounded primarily in the humanities on a global scale.
Enquiries: Susan Wheeler, New York University, Office of Public Affairs, 24 West Fourth St., 6th floor, New York, NY 10012-1199. Ph:(212) 9986838, Fax: (212) 9954021.
Ireland’s Historic Science Centre
Major plans are underway to restore the Great Rosse Telescope in Birr, County Offaly and make it the central attraction in a new venture, Ireland’s Historic Science Centre, based on the major contribution to science by the Parsons family in the nineteenth century, but which will also incorporate all important Irish scientists, past and present.
The Parsons came to Birr in the seventeenth century. Sir Lawrence Parsons, one of the few members of the Irish House of Commons admired by Theobald Wolfe Tone, turned his back on politics after the Act of Union (1800). He returned to Birr and set about developing and extending his house into a Gothic castle. He also commissioned a wrought iron suspension bridge, probably one of the earliest in Ireland or Britain, and laid out Parsonstown, as Birr was then known.
His children were brought up and educated in engineering and science by European tutors. Thus his eldest son, William, later third Earl of Rosse, developed and built the great telescope in the 1840s. It was the largest in the world for seventy years. The reflector mirror, made of copper and tin, was six feet wide and weighed four tons. The whole structure was supported by two sixty feet high limestone walls and was operated by a complicated set of chains and pulleys. A feat of engineering in itself, the telescope could gather more light than ever before and enabled Rosse to make significant astronomical discoveries. His wife, Mary, was a pioneer photographer in the 1850s. She set up a darkroom in the castle, which is still there, and along with her photographs, it will form part of the centre.
Lawrence Parsons, the fourth earl, was also an astronomer and accurately measured the heat of the moon in the 1880s. He also established a hydro-electric scheme on the river running through his demesne, making Birr one of the earliest towns to be electrified. Charles Parsons, his younger brother, invented the steam turbine.
Ireland’s Historic Science Centre plans to open its doors to the public in the spring of 1996.
Enquiries: Brigid Roden, Estate Office, Rosse Row, Birr, Co. Offaly. Ph: (0509) 20336, Fax: (0509) 21583.
The Emergency
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the ending of the Second World War or the ‘emergency’, as it was known in the Irish Free State. What was the state of preparedness of Irish defence forces? How effective was the mobilisation effort? What plans were formulated for defending the state from foreign aggression? How did the government maintain a neutral stance in the biggest armed conflict in European history? These are the questions addressed in a special edition (No.75) of The Irish Sword, journal of the Military History Society of Ireland, based on a series of fourteen papers delivered to a seminar in Cathal Brugha Barracks in 1992…and all for only £9 (p&p included).
Enquiries: Comdt E. Kiely, ‘C’ House, Officers’ Maried Quarters, Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin 6.
A Glimmer of Light
A Glimmer of Light is a booklet compiled by Don Mullan of Concern Worldwide outlining events planned for Ireland and overseas to commemorate the Great Irish Famine. It provides a general introduction to the plans of individuals and various organisations while also facilitat- ing greater communication and co-ordination between interested groups. While the booklet has been compiled as a contribution to the commemorative activities currently being planned to mark the 150th year since the start of the Great Famine it also includes several reflective pieces aimed at heightening our awareness not just of Ireland’s famine but also of contemporary famine.
Enquiries: Concern Worldwide, Camden St., Dublin 2.
Matilda Tone’s grave
‘Action needed to restore the grave of Matilda Tone’ ran a notice in last autumn’s newsletter of the New York Irish History Roundtable.
Matilda Tone was widow of Theobald Wolfe Tone and a significant political figure in her own right. She was at the centre of the political life of the United Irish exile community in America from 1815until her death in the late 1840s. She was a frequent contributor to the Irish-American press of that era. Her maiden name was Witherington. At the age of fifteen she eloped from her grandfather’s house in Grafton Street, Dublin, with the young Trinity law student, Theobald Wolfe Tone. As Tone put it in his autobiography: ‘One beautiful morning in July we ran off together and were married’. Matilda accompanied Tone to America in 1795 and after his death she married a man named Wilson. Both Tone’s name and Wilson’s are on her tombstone.
She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brookyln, New York (plot 22757, section 42). The grave is overgrown and the inscription badly weathered and nearly illegible. There is a now a project afoot in the USA to restore the grave and anyone interested in donating towards it should get in touch with Joe Jamison or Bill Lenihan of the Irish-American Labour Coalition (212) 254 9271 or write to the New York Irish History Roundtable, PO Box 1087, Church Street Station, New York100089-2087.
The Norman Connection ‘95
Following the success of last year’s event, the fourth annual Norman Connection conference will be held in Fethard-on-sea, County Wexford, on 22-24 September 1995. The conference will continue to focus, through lectures and field trips, on aspects of settlement and society in medieval Ireland. This year’s programme will include a visit to the Tower of Hook to view recently exposed thirteenth century features.
Enquiries: Billy Colfer, Ph: (051) 397442, Fax: (051) 397101.
Birr Thirteen Hundred 697-1997
Kings, abbots and bishops from Scotland, England and Ireland assembled at a great convention or mór-dhail on the plains of Birr in AD 697 and accepted the Cain Adamnain (Law of Adamnan) for the protection of women, children and other non-combatants. Abbot of Iona and born intothe same royal family as St Columba, Adamnan was a writer, diplomat and peacemaker, respected for his wisdom and knowledge of the scriptures. His mother Ronnat turned his thoughts towards the plight of women in the seventh century. But it was not until he was nearly seventy, that at Birr he finally succeeded in fulfilling his promise to her. He had been instructed by an angel to make ‘a law in Ireland and Britain for the sake of the mother of each one, because a mother has borne each one, and for the sake of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ’.
Cain Adamnain, also known as the Law of the Innocents, was written in Irish and it is believed to be one of the earliest surviving works in a European vernacular language. Two copies are extant dating from the seventeenth century, one in the Bodleian Library in Oxford and the other in the Bibliotheque Royale in Brussels. Both probably go back toa certain old book in the monastery of Raphoe, a foundation associated with Adamnan. The cathedrals in Raphoe and Letterkenny are dedicated to St Eunan, the name by which he was known in Donegal.
In these times of strife we are challenged by the initiative of Adamnan in responding to the needs of his time. In its own way, the adoption of Cain Adamnain was as important a monument to the civilisation of Early Christian Ireland as the wonderful works of art which that society produced. A committee has been established to celebrate the 1300th anniversary of Cain Adamnain in Birr in the summer of 1997 through a programme of lectures, seminars and other activities.
Enquiries: Revd. Irene Morrow, Hon. Sec., Birr Thirteen Hundred Committee, Ardagh, Cappaneale, Birr, Co. Offaly.
A castle weekend in Ballyvaughan
As dawn broke over a Burren valley on Saturday 4 February, early risers in Ballyvaughan must have been amazed to see a large number of figures silhouetted against the grey morning sky on Aillwee Mountain. Not a Burren invasion but participants on an archaeological weekend following noted environmentalist, John Feehan, on a pre-dawn walk.
The fifth Ballyvaughan archaeological conference on Castles in the landscape with particular reference to the Burren was officially opened on Friday evening by Michael Houlihan of Shannon Development who spoke of the initiatives and energies of the Ballyvaughan group and of the desire to involve the community in the proper development of the Burren.
Over 100 participated in a weekend of illustrated lectures, at both Ballyvaughan and the Burren College of Art, and field trips to the coast of Pollsallagh and to the tower houses of Newtown, Ballinalackan and Dún Guaire. In three talks, conference co-ordinator George Cunningham, author of the Burren Journey guides, dealt with the evolution of the castle from its simple ringwork and motte form down to the mock castles of today. He also conducted a light-hearted but comprehensive visual and written Burren question time on Saturday evening, following the conference dinner. John Feehan tried to uncover the medieval mind of tower house days and place that society in its relevant context. Paul Gosling, in both lecture room and field trip, dealt with the make-up and diversity of south Galway and north Clare castles. Paul McMahon made a case for an integrated conservation strategy for the historic sites and monuments throughout the Burren involving the statutory bodies, the local community and tourist interests. The urgent need to provide specialised training in the conservation of early stonework, especially dry-stonewalling, was emphasised. Sean White brought the capacity audience on a mind’s journey with W.B. Yeats in his ‘We the great gazebos built; ancestral towers and houses’.
The 1996 conference will take place in the first weekend of February at the same venues.
Enquiries: Ciara Cronin or Mary Hawkes-Greene, Burren College of Art, Newtown Castle, Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare. Ph: (065) 77200, Fax: (065)77201.