The Daniel O’Connell School 2024 will be held in August this year on Friday 30th & Saturday 31st August 2024. On Friday, 30 August, the School will be held at the Ring of Kerry Hotel, Cahersiveen (at the western end of the town). The School on Saturday, 31 August will be held in Derrynane House, Caherdaniel.
Those who expect to attend the School (on either or both days) must pre-register. This may be done through our website (www.danieloconnellsummerschool.com) where those registering will be asked to pay an attendance fee €30 per day or €50 for the two days. The registration fee includes morning coffee/tea. Those who do not have access to online may register by calling 087-7562772.
For those not attending the School in person, the lectures will be live-streamed from Cahersiveen on Friday, 30 August through the School’s website, www.danieloconnellsummerschool.com. Saturday’s lectures in Derrynane will be recorded and will be available for viewing from 4 September, again through the School’s website. A registration fee of €15 will apply. For updates on the programme, please refer to the School’s website.
On Friday, 30 August, lunch can be purchased in the Ring of Kerry Hotel, Cahersiveen or in any of the town’s restaurants. On Saturday 31st August, lunch will be provided by Ahamore Tea Rooms in Derrynane House. Lunch coupons may be purchased at the registration desk on Saturday morning. Please pre-purchase a lunch coupon to avoid delays.
We want to thank those who have supported the School in the past and who continue to encourage us to continue it into the future. You can become a Friend of the Daniel O’Connell School by contributing at www.danieloconnellsummerschool.com/Friend
PROGRAMME
Friday, 30 August 2024, Ring of Kerry Hotel, Cahersiveen
9.30 am: Introduction and Welcome
9.40 am: Opening Session: Ireland: Changes and Challenges
Áine Hyland, “The Transfer of Power from British to Irish Rule: The Case of Education". Áine Hyland is Emeritus Professor of Education and former Vice-President of University College Cork. She has a leading authority on the history of Irish Education in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Ciara Meehan is Dean of Students at the University of Galway. Ciara has written extensively on the governments and public policy of Independent Ireland. She will talk on the 1960s.
Brigid Laffan will speak on “Ireland: How a Small State Navigates a Turbulent World"; Brigid is Professor Emeritus, European University Institute (EUI) and Chancellor of University of Limerick. In 2024, she was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Irish Academy for her work in the Social Sciences.
11:15 am: Coffee Break
11.45 pm: The Lynches
Fiona Brennan, “Bríd ní Loinsigh”. Fiona is a Theatre Historian and Independent Researcher. She is co-editor of The Art and Ideology of Terence MacSwiney (2022). She was recently successful in having Ireland’s amateur dramatic tradition added to the national inventory of intangible cultural heritage which gives it formal state recognition for the first time.
Dermot Lynch and Tim Lynch, “Fionán Lynch: Persistent Rebel’. Dermot and Tim are the son and grandson, respectively, of Fionán Lynch. Dermot is a retired GP. Tim is Professor of Neurology at the Mater Hospital in Dublin and is completing a biography on his grandfather
This session will be chaired by Jimmy Deenihan, former TD for North Kerry and Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage.
1:00 pm: Lunch
2:30 pm The Daniel O’Connell Lecture, 2024.
Senator Michael McDowell, SC, is an Independent Member of Seanad Éireann. He has also held a number of Cabinet positions including Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (2002-7) and Attorney General (1999-2002). He was also Tánaiste between September 2006 and June 2007. He qualified as a barrister in 1974 and was called to the Inner Bar in 1987.
3.30 pm: Book Launch, The Amergin Step by Paddy Bushe. Paddy was born in Dublin and has lived overlooking Ballinskelligs Bay for more than fifty years. A former teacher, he is a poet, editor and translator in both English and Irish and is a member of Aosdána. The landscape and literature of Iveragh are seminal to his work. For a note on The Amergin Step, see the School’s website.
5.15 pm: Con Keating Memorial Park, Cahersiveen: “A Football Experience”
Billy O’Connell will talk about what being a member of St Mary’s meant to him growing up in Cahersiveen during the 1960s and ‘70s. He will also talk about his time playing with the Kerry Minors, UCC and The Kingdom in London as well as serving as a medical doctor to the Clare football team while Clare was managed by the two football Kerry greats, Paudie O’Shea and Mick O Dwyer.
Saturday, 28 October 2023. Derrynane House, Caherdaniel
9.30 am : Introduction: Chris O’Neill, Office of Public Works
9.40 am: The Heritage of South Kerry
Denis Casey holds his PhD from the University of Cambridge and is a historian of medieval and early modern Ireland. Denis will talk about “Theobald MacGhee and the founding of Portmagee Village (c.1720AD)" on this, the 300th anniversary of MacGhee’s death.
Shane Lehane, “The Skelligs Lists”. Shane has lectured in archaeology, folklore, history, and the arts for over 30 years and has a particular interest in programmes which facilitate young and mature students to progress to Arts and Humanities programmes at 3rd level. His most recent publications focus on the history and culture of beekeeping and the history of food. He is a resident folklorist on ‘The Today Show’ (RTE).
Eugene O’Sullivan will speak on “A South Kerry Olympian and a GAA Star Remembered: the Story of Eamon Fitzgerald”. Eugene is a native of The Glen and has a lifetime of involvement in the GAA as a player and administrator. He spent over forty years as a member of the Garda Siochana and was Chairperson of the Kerry Association in Dublin.
11:15 am: Coffee Break
11:45 am: Rural Worlds: From Russia to Dingle
Judith Devlin will speak on rural Russia in the nineteenth century. Having spent ten years in the Department of Foreign Affairs, including a posting to Moscow during the Gorbachev years, Judith taught in UCD. She has published several books and articles on French and Soviet history.
Bryan MacMahon is an Independent Researcher. His book Faith and Fury: the Evangelical
Campaign in Dingle and West Kerry, 1825-45 was published in 2021. His most recent book is Ballyheigue in Arms: Portrait of a Kerry Parish 1914-23 (2023). He will talk on “Responses to the Protestant Mission in West Kerry in the mid 1800s”.
1:00 pm: Lunch
2:00pm:
Aoife Watters, “Glasnevin Cemetery and Daniel O’Connell”. Aoife Watters is CEO of the Dublin Cemeteries Trust which oversees three crematoria and five cemeteries, two of which were established by Daniel O’Connell; Goldenbridge and Glasnevin, Ireland’s National Cemetery. Aoife is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and a Fellow of ACCA.
Charles Lysaght, “The Memory of Daniel O'Connell". Charles is a barrister and biographer. He was also editor of a collection of Irish obituaries which was published by The Times of London and which included its obituary of O'Connell.
An Scoil 2024
Chuir Dómhnall Ó Conaill tús le cultúr nua i bpolaitíocht na hÉireann agus na hEorpa. Duine mór le rá ab ea é sa Bhreatain agus cáil air mar óráidí ag treisiú an liobrálachais. Eiseamlár do lucht polaitíochta ins na Stáit Aontaithe ab ea é maidir lena shlite polaitíochta agus mar a mheall sé an gnáth-phobal chun páirt a ghlacadh i bpolaitíocht na tíre. D’fhág sé rian fé leith ar chás na nIúdach agus cás na mílte a bhí brúite fé smacht ag an sclábhaíocht. Dlíodóir iomráiteach ab ea é agus bhí baint mhór aige le cúrsaí gnó na hÉireann. Déanfaidh an Scoil Samhraigh an méid seo a iniúchadh, a scagadh agus a cheistiú.
For further information, please contact
Mary O’Connor : Tel: 087 2805702 : email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
OR
Phil O’Neill: Tel: 087-7562772.
The School’s website is www.danieloconnellsummerschool.com
The Daniel O’Connell School acknowledges the encouragement and financial assistance which we receive from our Sponsors including Kerry County Council, the Office of Public Works, Failte Ireland, Walshe’s Supervalu of Cahersiveen, Fexco, and the Glasnevin Cemetery Trust.
