8th Irish Military Seminar to take place in County Kildare

The 8th Irish Military Seminar takes place on May 10 and 11 at the Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge.

On the evening of May 10, the seminar opens with a very special event.

Join authors James Durney, Mario Corrigan and John O’Byrne for the launch of their book The Colour of Kildare 1913-1923 .

This event will start at 7pm sharp, no booking necessary.

At 8pm, a talk will be given on the Missing in Action: The 50-year search for Ireland’s lost soldier.

In almost 70 years of Irish peacekeeping missions with the United Nations only two soldiers have died on overseas operations whose bodies have failed to be repatriated.

Missing in Action is the story of the 50-year search for one of those soldiers, Trooper Pat Mullins who was killed in an ambush at Elizabethville, in the Congo. This story will be told by Ralph Riegel.

Please note that the 8pm event is a ticketed event, pre-booking essential.

On Saturday 11, registration takes place between 9am and 9.30am. The timetable of events is as follows:

9.40am-10.20am — This land of ire. The Nine Years’ War in Ireland, 1593-1603 with Dr. James O’Neill

The Nine Years’ War was one of the most traumatic and bloody conflicts in the history of Ireland. Encroachment on the liberties of the Irish lords by the English crown caused Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, to build an unprecedented confederation of Irish lords.

10.25am-11.05am — In Spanish Trenches: The Mind and Deeds of the Irish in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War with Emmet O’Connor.

The Connolly Column – the Irish who fought for Republican Spain – is a window on 1930s Ireland. This presentation examines what they did in the war, how International Brigades operated, and what their command systems meant for the life, and death, of ordinary brigadistas.

11.05am-11.30am — refreshments

11.35am-12.15pm — Art MacMurchadha Caomhánach at war with Richard II, 1394 and 1399 ‘Nothing venture nothing have.’ Darren McGettigan

The English king Richard II made two expeditions to Ireland in 1394 and 1399. Ireland in his time was the scene of a Gaelic Irish revival where Irish kings in numerous parts of the island rolled back the Anglo-Norman conquests of previous centuries. The Gaelic Irish of south Leinster also produced one of the most remarkable and successful leaders of the late-medieval period, Art MacMurchadha Caomhánach.

12.20pm-13.00pm — World War Military Structures in Co. Kildare. Stephen Callaghan.

This presentation will examine the results of a recent report compiled by Archaeology Plan on the surviving First and Second World era military structures and landscapes in County Kildare, with a focus on the Curragh Camp. The presentation will also give context of their importance in a nationwide setting.

13.00pm-14.20 — Lunch (not provided)

14.25-15.05 — Irish Doctors in the Second World War with Joe Duignan.

At least 2,000 Irish doctors joined the British military forces during the war.

This conflict was truly global and the doctors who were involved were in every theatre of war. Most joined the Royal Army Medical Corps (1,147) followed by the Royal Air Force (407) and the Royal Navy (253). A total of 72 Irish doctors died during the war.

15.10-15.50 — Seán Keating and the Art of Revolution with Dr. Éimear O’Connor.

This presentation focuses initially on Seán Keating’s politically motivated paintings between 1915 and 1924, for which he is well-known.

It will then examine the rest of the artist’s long career during which time he used both metaphor and images of ordinary people to question and critique the post-treaty ruling classes.

16.00 — Close of seminar

In order to secure your place on the seminar log on to www.riverbank.ie