The evening will start with an exploration of Irish women’s lives and writing in the 20th century.
Topics include:
Gender, 1968 and Ireland
Sarah Campbell
Using Bernadette Devlin McAliskey as a case study, this talk will explore how ideas of global 1968 permeated and circulated in Ireland, and how much influence second-wave feminism had then and since.
IRA women in Durham Jail
Jack Hepworth
During the 1980s and early 1990s, several high-profile republican women were held in Durham Jail. Isolated from their families and subjected to strip-searching, the Durham IRA prisoners became a focal point of radical campaigns on both sides of the Irish Sea. This talk examines the protest movement in the north-east of England, where Irish diaspora activists, leftists, and feminists rallied in support of the prisoners.
Re-writing Hibernia: Gendered Mythmaking and the Irish Literary Revival.
Rachael McCreanor
This talk will explore Lady Augusta Gregory’s interactions with the established Irish mythological and literary canon, discussing her position as an influential cultural figure who challenged the patriarchal traditions of the period.
Then Poet Pauline Hughes will be reading an extract from one of her short stories to get us started. Why not bring along some of your own creative work to share? Some of our local musicans will give us a tune – feel free to join in.
