The West Cork History Festival will take place over the weekend of 9 – 11 August 2024 at the beautiful Inish Beg estate, which was such a great location for our 2023 Festival.
Our programme this year will have two broad themes: Aftermaths and Diaspora.
Scroll down for more information on our Festival Field trips.
Friday 9 August
17:30-21:00
| Octagon | |
| 17:30 – 19:30 | Welcome and introduction
Professors Margaret MacMillan & Roy Foster in conversation, reflecting on the themes and preoccupations of their careers as historians |
| 20:00 – 22:00 | Screening of Rebel Wife, directed by Williams Rossa Cole, and telling the story of Mary Jane O’Donovan Rossa |
| The bar will be open and food available |
Saturday 10 August
10:00-21:00
| Octagon | Boathouse | |
| 10:00-11:00 | Andy Bielenberg and John Dorney, in conversation with Helene O’Keeffe – Mapping the Civil War | Christopher de Bellaigue – Suleyman the Magnificent |
| 11:15-12:15 | Donal Byrne – Afterlives of Big House Families | Rosa Gilbert – Oral Histories of the Irish in Britain |
| 12:30 -13:30 | Conor Gearty – How Counter-Terrorism Law Has Changed What We Allow Under Liberal Democracy
This talk is in memory of James Kingston |
Breandan Mac Suibhne – The Miller Collection of Letters |
| 13:30-14:30 Lunch – food and drink will be available | ||
| 14:30- 15:30 | Russell Napier – The Aftermath of Debt | Catherine Wynne – The Irish Soldier in the British Army in the Nineteenth Century |
| 15:45-16:45 | Martin Doyle – The writing of Dirty Linen | Ida Milne – The Elmes Letters: a Wexford Protestant family network on surviving the 1798 rebellion |
| 17:00-18:00 | Anna Reid – A Nasty Little War: The West’s Fight to Reverse the Russian Revolution | Ruti Lachs – Cork’s Jewish Culture Past & Present |
| Food and drink will be available Saturday evening only tickets are available for music & film screening, under 16s are free |
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| 18:00-21:00 | Live music: 19:00-20:00 Fresh Air Collective |
Screening of Rebel Wife, directed by Williams Rossa Cole, and telling the story of Mary Jane O’Donovan Rossa |
Sunday 11 August
10:00-18:30
| Octagon | |
| 10:00-11:00 | Tom Keneally joins us live from his home in Australia to discuss his book Fanatic Heart with Myles Dungan |
| 11.15-12.15 | Catherine Bateson – ‘Words and Music by an Irishman’ – The Irish American Civil War Experience Expressed in Song |
| 12.30-13.30 | Myles Dungan on his book Land Is All That Matters |
| 13:30-14:30 Food & Drink will be available | |
| 14:30-15:30 | Caroline Campbell – The National Gallery in Irish Life |
| 15:45-16.45 | Henry Hemming – Four Shots in the Night: The Hunt for Stakeknife |
| 16:45 – 18:15 | Panel Discussion with Festival speakers including Roy Foster, Andy Bielenberg and Anna Reid: Are Aftermaths when the action happens? |
| END |
The Digital Repository of Ireland
We will be joined at this year’s Festival by Dr Maeve O’Brien and Lorraine Marrey from the Digital Repository of Ireland. The DRI is a trustworthy digital repository for the long-term digital preservation of Ireland’s humanities, social sciences, and cultural heritage resources. Collections available on open access include: The Irish Stone Axe Project Digital Collection by the Discovery Programme, Post Office Irish Postage Stamp Collection, Kilkenny Traditional Shopfront Signage Project, Sybil Connolly Design Sketches, and Wide Streets Commission (1681-1851) amongst others. Look out for Maeve and Lorraine at the Festival to find out more.
Field Trips: Skibbereen Walking Tour, Gormú & Atlantic Sea Kayaking
| Thursday 8 August 18:30 |
A Walking Tour of Skibbereen Town Please note this event is now sold out This walking tour, with local historian William Casey, will explore the history of Skibbereen. Concentrating mainly on the nineteenth century history of the town it will look at how major events like the Great Famine and the Fenian Movement impacted the area. It will touch on important events in the town’s history such as the O’Connell Monster Rally of 1843 and individuals who made an impact, like newspaper proprietor Fred Potter and astronomer Agnes Mary Clerke. The built history, the cultural history and the stories of the town are all included, and all this for free. The tour will be 3 km in length (1.5 km tour and 1.5 km back to the carpark). It will commence at the Skibbereen Heritage Centre (eircode P81 WK06) carpark at 6:30 pm sharp. Numbers are limited to 15 max and booking in advance is required via the Festival booking page on Eventbrite. |
Gormú Field Trips
We are delighted to be partnering with the brilliant Gormú again this year for Festival Field Trips.
Please book all the events below via the Gormú website where you can select the relevant date. And as Festival attendees, do use the discount codes provided below when booking. We are also offering a 20% discount for those who book during June!
| Friday 9 August 09:00 |
Gormú Clifftop Hike with Coffee & Cookies (book via Gormú website)
In addition to the regular content of the Clifftop Hike, Conor will discuss the local lore and stories about lives of British soldiers stationed at the Signal Tower in Gortacrossig Starting Location: Toe Head Coast Guard |
| Friday 9 August 10:00 |
Gormú Luxury eBike tour with coffee stop in Rosscarbery (book via Gormú website) In addition to the regular content of the tour, we will have a special guest speaker discussing local civil war sites around Leap and Roscarbery, tying in with the Festival presentation on UCC’s Mapping the Civil War project. Starting Location: Cnoc Buí, Union Hall |
| Friday 9 August Midday |
Gormú Placenames walking tour with artisan picnic featuring local foods (book via Gormú website) In addition to the regular content of our Placenames tour, on this special version of the tour, Conor will bring participants to the grave of Rossa’s only child buried in Ireland and Rossa’s second wife Ellen O’Donovan Rossa who was Conor’s grandaunt. This links to the Festival’s screenings of Rebel Wife directed by Williams Rossa Cole, and telling the story of Mary Jane O’Donovan Rossa. Starting Location: Castlehaven Cross near Castletownshend |
| Saturday 10 August 07:30 |
Saturday Dawn Swim with Hot Breakfast (book via Gormú website; wetsuits included) In addition to the regular content of this swim, Conor will bring participants to the grave of Rossa’s only child buried in Ireland and Rossa’s second wife Ellen O’Donovan Rossa who was Conor’s grandaunt. This ties in with the Festival’s screening of Rebel Wife directed by Williams Rossa Cole, and telling the story of Mary Jane O’Donovan Rossa. Starting Location: Castlehaven Cross near Castletownshend |
| Sunday 11 August 07:30 |
Sunday Dawn Swim with Hot Breakfast (book via Gormú website; wetsuits included) In addition to the regular content of this swim, Conor will bring participants to the grave of Rossa’s only child buried in Ireland and Rossa’s second wife Ellen O’Donovan Rossa who was Conor’s grandaunt. This links in with the Festival’s screening of Rebel Wife directed by Williams Rossa Cole, and telling the story of Mary Jane O’Donovan Rossa. Starting Location: Castlehaven Cross near Castletownshend |
Atlantic Sea Kayaking Field Trip
We are also really pleased to be partnering with our friends at Atlantic Sea Kayaking again this year for a history-themed kayak in Castlehaven Bay. Book via the Atlantic Sea Kayaking website.
| Friday 9 August 11:00-14:30 |
Castlehaven Bay Kayaking (book via ASK website)
The kayaking trip will be led by Tony McCarthy, local historian and genealogist. He will cover the period from the Viking area through Gaelic Ireland and the Plantations in Munster up to the Napoleonic Wars as it affected and was played out in Castlehaven Bay. There’ll be a cup of tea after the paddle and the opportunity to chat and ask questions. Starting Location: Reen Pier |
Search for History courses available near you at Nightcourses.com.
Are you interested in starting a History Course? At Nightcourses.com you can find a wide range of courses available around Ireland. For more information, contact the course providers directly here.
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