2017 IRISH Seminar—in Rome!

This year, two signature Notre Dame graduate-level seminars—the Keough-Naughton Institute's IRISH Seminar and the Italian Studies' Rome Seminar—will come together for "Ireland and Italy," to be held at the Notre Dame Rome Global Gateway from June 16 through 30.  The seminar's executive director is Barry McCrea, Donald R. Keough Family Professor of Irish Studies and Professor of English, Irish Language and Literature, and Romance Languages and Literatures.  

Professor McCrea says: "The connections between Ireland and the English-speaking world can overshadow the deep and vital links between Ireland and other places. This joint session of the Notre Dame Irish and Rome seminars continues the work achieved by the Irish Seminar in Argentina [2015] by exploring the historical, cultural and economic ties that bind Ireland and Italy from the middle ages to the present."

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Musician and ethnomusicologist Iarla Ó Lionáird at Notre Dame 

Every semester, visitors invited to campus as part of the Institute's "Speakers and Public Talks" series fulfill the part of the Institute's mission that is to "bring Ireland to Notre Dame."

Acclaimed musician and ethnomusicologist Iarla Ó Lionáird visited campus this spring and entranced his audience with a performance/lecture on the roots of his own musical career and the juncture— both historical and aesthetic—that exists between song and poetry in Irish literature.

Ó Lionáird’s unique singing style has carried him to stages and concert halls all over the world, from New York’s Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. His film credits include The Gangs of New York, Hotel Rwanda, and most recently as a featured vocalist in the films Calvary and Brooklyn. He is also the vocalist of the critically acclaimed Irish/American band The Gloaming. 

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Faculty Fellow Jim Smyth's Newest Book: Remembering the Troubles: Contesting the Recent Past In Northern Ireland

Faculty Fellow Jim Smyth's newest book, Remembering the Troubles: Contesting the Recent Past in Northern Ireland, published by the University of Notre Dame Press, was launched in Belfast on April 6 with support from the Brian J. Logue Fund for Northern Ireland.

The essays in this volume, by leading experts in the fields of Irish and British history, politics, and international studies, explore the ways in which competing “social” or “collective memories” of the Northern Ireland “Troubles” continue to shape the post-conflict political landscape.

Christopher Fox, Professor of English and Director of the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, attended the event in Belfast and commented afterward on the quality of the volume and on the need for Notre Dame to strengthen its connections with Ulster and the North.  "This is especially important," he said, "as we move into the new Donald R. Keough School of Global Affairs.  I thank Dr. Brian Logue for getting us started and making this and other connections with Northern Ireland possible."

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