ADEFFI 2014 Postgraduate Symposium

The annual Postgraduate Symposium of the Association des Etudes Françaises et Francophones d'Irlande (ADEFFI) took place in NUI, Galway on Saturday 22 March 2014.

Postgraduate students from universities in Ireland and the UK, who work in the areas of French and Francophone studies, presented papers on various aspects of their research. This is the last symposium that I will organise as Postgraduate Representative of the association. I really enjoyed being part of the committee over the last three years and attending the annual conferences. Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way.

A report on the symposium is up on the association's Facebook page. It includes some photographs of the participants and attendees. Below is a photo of a section of the quadrangle in NUI, Galway.

Book Review - Irish Journal of French Studies

 

I reviewed a book on 'narrative' called Le Récit aujourd'hui for the latest edition of the Irish Journal of French Studies. The journal is an annual international refereed journal published by the Association des Etudes Françaises et Francophones d'Irlande (ADEFFI). Fist issued in 2001 in printed version, the journal is now published online and can be accessed here: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/irjofs/ijfs

More information about the journal here and a list of back issues here.

An Irishman's Diary - Mary Poppins author - PL Travers

PL Travers, circa 1924, source: Wikimedia Commons.

I have just had another 'Irishman's dairy' published in today's Irish Times, Saturday 23 November 2013.

'Mary Poppins - the Irish connection' looks at the links between the author of the Mary Poppins books, Pamela Lyndon Travers (known as PL Travers) and Ireland.

It was through the poet, artist and Co-operative movement supporter, George William Russell (known as AE) that Travers became associated with Ireland. She contributed some of her poems to the weekly arts journal that he edited. Travers' circle of friends in Ireland included others who contributed to the Irish Statesman. 

With articles by writers such as Frank O’Connor and Padraic Colum and artists Paul and Grace Henry, the list of contributors to the Irish Statesman is like a who’s who of literary and artistic Ireland of the time. I cannot help but marvel at seeing such a collection of talented people all in the one place. Lennox Robinson, Jack B. Yeats and W. B. Yeats also wrote for the journal. 

Travers and AE remained close up until he died in 1935. There's a great interview with Travers here from the Paris Review where she discusses her relationship with AE (among other things).

NPHFI Annual Conference 2013

The 2013 annual conference of the Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland took place in Dublin City University on 8 & 9 November 2013.

The theme of the conference was 'Journalists in History: Blackguards, Muckrakers and Crusaders'. Speakers came from Ireland, the UK and North America and delivered papers on a marvelously wide range of journalists and publications. From the provincial and national presses of Ireland to the minority press of black America and lots more besides, the conference provided unparalleled  insights into journalists and journalism history.

I delivered a paper on the French journalist Henri Béraud (1885-1958) who reported from Ireland in the 1920s, and was sentenced to death at the liberation of France for the polemics he wrote during World War 2.

Conference Poster

ADEFFI Annual Conference 2013

The 2013 conference of ADEFFI (Association des Etudes Françaises et Francophones d'Irlande) took place in NUI Maynooth from 18 - 20 October 2013. The theme of the conference, Histoire(s), can be translated into English as both history and a story - giving participants plenty of scope to work with and creating a lively and diverse collection of topics.

The French writer and film director, Philippe Claudel, was the guest of honour at the conference. Unfortunately, I could not attend the conference as I fractured my arm a couple of days before it, but I believe that it was a great success. This a PDF of the conference programme.

This is the conference poster.

Irish Times Article - 14 October 2013

I have just written another Irish Times article. In it I speak about the strange and wonderful things that we come across when carrying out research in a library.

I recently found a lock of hair when going through the Art Ó Bríain papers in the National Library of Ireland. It belonged to Mrs Mac Swiney, the widow of the Lord Mayor of Cork who died on hunger strike in Brixton Prison. Ó Bríain was the spokesman for the First Dáil in London from 1919 to 1922. His job was to spread the word about Terence MacSwiney's hunger strike among newspaper people and news agencies in London. He received correspondence from people all over the world about MacSwiney.

The contents of the Art Ó Bríain papers are truly amazing. Have a look for yourself if you don't believe me: http://www.nli.ie/pdfs/mss%20lists/150_OBriain.pdf

1 Man, 100,000 items - The Jackie Clarke Collection.

While on holidays in County Mayo during summer 2013, I visited the Jackie Clarke Collection in Ballina. The collection is located in a beautifully restored old bank building on Pearse Street in Ballina. I was really amazed at the clever displays of objects of rich cultural history in this treasure trove.

Jackie Clarke was a collector of all things Irish who worked in Ballina. Over the years he amassed a varied collection of approximately 100,000 items including newspapers, books, maps, prints and posters. The Irish state broadcaster RTE has recently devoted some programmes to the Jackie Clarke collection. This one is from the Today programme and this one is from the History Show.

During my visit, I noticed that they have Ernie O'Malley's papers. O'Malley was an IRA leader during the Irish War of Independence. They also have Louis N. Le Roux's papers. Le Roux was a Breton nationalist who wrote a biography of the Irish nationalist leader Patrick Pearse. The Jackie Clarke Collection is well worth a visit because of the wide variety of its collection and the way the material is displayed.