Daniel Mulhall, Fergal Keane, and Sarah Moore Fitzgerald are among the writers and scholars to speak at the Thomas MacDonagh Hedge School this September
The Thomas MacDonagh Museum have announced Daniel Mulhall, Fergal Keane, and Professor Sarah Moore Fitzgerald as some of the writers and scholars to speak at this year’s Hedge School, which honours the life of the Cloughjordan poet.
Shelley wrote that ‘poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.’ The theme for this year’s programme Revival and Rebellion: Politics and the Arts – Ireland in Review is inspired by MacDonagh’s central role in the arts and politics of his time, evident in his work as contributor and editor of The Irish Review during its brief run (1911 – 1914).
Daniel Mulhall, a retired Diplomat and a former Ambassador of Ireland to the United States, will give the keynote address at 11am on Saturday 21 September.
Daniel has served as Ireland’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Germany and Malaysia. He was a member of the Irish Government’s delegation at the negotiations that produced the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Since his retirement in 2022, Daniel has been: Global Distinguished Professor of Irish Studies at Glucksman Ireland House, New York University; Parnell Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge University; and a Fellow at the Institute of Politics, Harvard University. In 2022, he published Ulysses: A Reader’s Odyssey (New Island Books) to critical acclaim.
Fergal Keane, author and special correspondent for BBC news, will be in conversation with Professor Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, novelist and course director of the MA in Creative Writing at The University of Limerick. Fergal will share his personal perspectives on his love of literature, music and poetry. He will discuss how the arts contribute to political discourse. This event will take place at 2pm on Saturday 21 September.
Esteemed for his truthful, affecting and conscientious reporting from troubled areas around the globe, Fergal was made an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy on 18 July 2024. He is the author of bestselling books, most recently The Madness: A Memoir of War, Fear and PTSD (Harper Collins).
At 4pm on Saturday 21 September, Dr Catherine Wilsdon, Communications and Public Engagement Manager at UCD Library, will chair the discussion panel ‘Arts, Politics and The Irish Review’. Catherine will be joined by Dr. Róisín Kennedy, Lecturer in the School of Art History and Cultural Policy at UCD and Dr Billy Shortall, Research Fellow in the Irish Art Research Centre at TCD (TRIARC). Together they will explore how the arts have informed their approaches to their work and academic writing and how, in their view, the arts contribute to political debate.
The 2024 Hedge School events begin with a 2 day Creative Writing Workshop facilitated by David McLoghlin. David is a prize-winning poet, a creative nonfiction writer and a literary translator. The workshops will take place at the Thomas MacDonagh Museum from 11am – 1pm on Wednesday and Thursday 18-19 September. These workshops are for adults, are free of charge and limited to 12 participants. No prior writing experience is required.
Culture Night on Friday evening 20 September sees the launch of art exhibition The Irish Review – Creative Responses. Curated by the North Tipperary Artists’ Collective, twenty professional and amateur artists have been invited to draw inspiration from The Irish Review journals to create a unique collaborative work. Similarly inspired work which evolves from the creative writing workshops will also be read that evening.
To close the 2024 Thomas MacDonagh Hedge School, at 2pm on Sunday 22 September, Dr. Róisín Kennedy will give a talk on the exquisite Harry Clarke Window in St Michael & St John’s Church, Cloughjordan. Róisín will consider Harry Clarke—the artist, his life, his work and his style.
A Director at the Thomas MacDonagh Museum, Una Johnston, says the 2024 Hedge School programme will be of ‘great interest to anyone interested in both cultural history and contemporary arts. Our speakers and events will reflect on themes of politics and the arts from the troubled years of The Irish Review’s existence to the present day.’
Places for events are limited, please find your tickets here.
