SOFEIR conference in University College Cork (UCC)

The 2025 SOFEIR (Société Française d'Études Irlandaises / French Society of Irish Studies) conference was held in University College Cork on 21-22 March 2025. SOFEIR was founded in Rennes in 1981 and brings together academics who work in the broad interdisciplinary field of Irish studies in France. This was (I think) the second time that the conference was held in Ireland.

The theme for the conference was 'Ireland and Transnational Solidarities'. Academics and researchers came from Ireland, France and the UK to present papers on various topics from Palestine, Algeria and India to herbal medicine, Irish literature and surfing. 

 

Getting the Dr Dora Allman room in the Hub ready for the conference.

I delivered a paper on Etiennette Beuque (d. 1949), a Frenchwoman who wrote numerous books on Ireland in the 1920s and 1930s. She became interested in Ireland around the time of the push for Irish independence 100 years ago. Her books focused on Irish history and contemporary Irish politics. She also wrote poetry and a couple of books of fiction based on Ireland (particularly the Terence MacSwiney hunger strike and the Easter Rising).

The photograph above shows a packed audience listening to Prof Dónal Hassett deliver a keynote speech on the experience of Irish peasants who were sent to set up home in French controlled Algeria in the 1800s. It ended in disaster and the Irish people that went there eventually made their way back to Ireland.

A library exhibition was organised to run alongside the conference in the UCC Boole Library. Entitled 'Ireland and France: Transnational Nations', conference attendees were able to view the exhibition during the conference. It included a wide range of exhibits from the library's holdings. Below are some examples of the kind of material (a French map of Ireland and a photograph of Samuel Beckett in Paris) that was on display as part of the exhibition.

RTÉ Brainstorm piece on the Avignon popes

Did you know that the Pope did not always live in Rome? Yes, in the middle ages, seven popes lived in Avignon in the south of France. I have just written a short article about it for the RTÉ Brainstorm website. Read it here.

 

The Palais des Papes in Avignon. Image source.

The Avignon papacy lasted for over 60 years until Pope Gregory XI decided to return to Rome in 1376. His death in 1378 led to great division in the Catholic Church with some senior clerics arguing that the papacy should leave Rome and return to Avignon. The Great Western Schism is how the division has been called. During that time, several men claimed to be Pope at the same time. It was resolved through negotiations in ecumenical councils. 

The home of the Popes in Avignon, the Palais des Papes is an imposing Gothic palace. It is the largest Gothic palace in Europe. It is one of the most visited tourist sites in the region and plays host to the Festival d'Avignon each year.