The University of the Third Age (DLDK)


Future Events Programme

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Feb

18

10:30

Kilmainham Gaol and the Famine.

Brian Crowley.

  • 📅Tuesday, February 18, 2025
  • 🕥10:30 - 11:30

Brian Crowley is employed by the Public Works as Curator for Kilmainham Gaol and the Pearse Museum. As well as curating exhibitions in Kilmainham and the Pearse Museum, he has published several historical essays and an illustrated biography of Patrick Pearse entitled " Patrick Pearse, a Life in Pictures". Recent publications include "That They Might Obtain the Shelter of a Prison: Kilmainham Gaol and the Great Famine", which appeared in "Dublin and the Great Famine" and "Queering Kilmainham: uncovering the LGBTQ+ stories in a national shrine" which appeared in "Studia Hibernica", vol. 46.

Kilmainham Gaol was profoundly affected by the Great Famine. As desperate, impoverished families arrived in Dublin in search of relief, the prison population grew too. Annual committals to the gaol rose from 1814 in 1845 to 9034 in 1850. The systems introduced in the previous decades to improve Irish prisons and to promote the reformation and rehabilitation of prisoners were largely abandoned as the prisons struggled to cope with the influx of poor prisoners. In the case of Kilmainham Gaol, nearly half of these prisoners were women and children, which presented a particular challenge to the prison authorities. The Famine continued to have a significant effect on Irish prisons for years to come and ultimately to the decision to close the majority of Irish gaols at the turn of the century.


Mar

04

10:30

Irish-German relations since 1925.

Gisela Holfter.

  • 📅Tuesday, March 4, 2025
  • 🕥10:30 - 11:30

Gisela Holfter studied in Cologne, Cambridge and Saint-Louis and worked as an Assistant Teacher in Belfast and as a Lektorin at the University of Otago in New Zealand before joining the University of Limerick. She is Professor of German and Director of the Centre for Irish-German studies in UL, a Fellow of the Centre for British studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin and a Member of the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung. She has published many articles and edited over 20 books. Her monographs include "Erlebnis Irland" (1996), "Heinrich Böll and Ireland" (2011) and "A Irish Sanctuary: German speaking Refugees in Ireland: 1933-1945" (2017).

This presentation will reflect on Irish-German relations in the last 100 years, including case studies from diverse areas such as diplomatic relations, business connections, literature, art and music, and will also cover a number of fascinating individuals who played important roles but are (unfortunately) generally forgotten today. The general idea is to present a happy and hopefully intriguing pot pourri of the many facets that shape binational relations without attempting to give a complete history.


Mar

18

10:30

Looking at bricks in Dublin houses.

Susan Roundtree.

  • 📅Tuesday, March 18, 2025
  • 🕥10:30 - 11:30

Susan Roundtree is a retired conservation architect who holds a Masters in Urban and Building Conservation (UCD 1991) and a Masters of Letters by research (TCD 1999) for research in the history of Irish brickwork. She has contributed to many publications on building and architectural history and, most recently, is the author of "Brickmaking in Ireland: a Gazetteer" (2023).

Clay brick is an important building material and most brick found in Ireland is of local manufacture. In my research work I have been recording the locations where brick was made in the country and also looking at how this locally-made indigenous material has shaped the character of Irish buildings for more than four centuries. In this talk we will look at the use of brick in some typical Dublin houses.


Apr

01

10:30

Maureen O'Hara.

Ruth Barton.

  • 📅Tuesday, April 1, 2025
  • 🕥10:30 - 11:30

Ruth Barton is professor of film studies at Trinity College Dublin. She has written widely on Irish cinema. her most recent monograph, "Irish cinema in the 21st century", was published in 2019 by Manchester University Press. She has written critical biographies of Hedi Lamar and Ross Ingram and is a regular film critic on RTE Radio's arts programme, Arena. She is currently researching a biography of Maureen O'Hara.

This talk will cover the career of Irish film star Maureen O'Hara (1920-2015) from her early breakthrough on British screens, through her films with Charles Laughton, to her heyday in Hollywood where she became known as "The Queen of Technicolor". We will look at her performances with John Ford as director, and her triumphant return to Irish stories with her starring role in The Quiet Man (1952). We will see how her life worked out in her later years and her significance to Irish film industry.


Apr

15

10:30

Nutrition and Aging.

Nick Kennedy.

  • 📅Tuesday, April 15, 2025
  • 🕥10:30 - 11:30

Provisional date - To be confirmed.