November NUI Galway Academic and Acclaimed Traditional Singer to Deliver Inaugural Address as a Professor

A lecture series at the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Celtic Studies at NUI Galway featuring new Professors in the College will continue with Personal Professor in Irish, Professor Lillis Ó Laoire, on Thursday, 28 November at 5pm, in the Moore Institute NUI Galway (GO10).

In his talk titled ‘Ó Turgenev go Toraigh: Taighde ar thraidisiúin amhránaíochta na Gaeilge’ (From Turgenev to Tory: Research on Irish-language song traditions), Professor Ó Laoire will share findings from his ground-breaking research over the past thirty years of the song tradition in Ireland. The story ‘Singers’ by Turgenev from the collection Hunters Tales portrays a competition between two singers, giving a description of the abilities of each competitor. It is a powerful, mysterious story and is a masterful presentation of  the characteristics of song performance. The connection between song and the spirit of a nation is also made. A similar portrayal is found in P. H. Pearse’s story ‘Bríd na nAmhrán.’ Taking these two narratives as reference points, Professor Ó Laoire will discuss his research into song taking in background and context; his field work in Tory Island and the work of Joe Heaney will also feature. As befits the occasion, and in NUI Galway’s best spirit of inclusive bilingualism, the lecture will be delivered in Irish, with simultaneous translation into English.

Dr Seán Crosson, Vice-Dean for Research in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies at NUI Galway, said: “We are delighted to continue this lecture series which provides a great opportunity for the University to make the general public more aware of the world-leading innovative research being undertaken in the college. This is the eighth speaker in the series which has featured contributions to date in the areas of social policy, education, political thought, online therapies, language transmission, historical research, and behavioural psychology. It is a great honour to now feature Professor Ó Laoire in the series, an academic who in his research, publications, and practice as one of Ireland’s finest contemporary sean-nós singers, has brought a deeper appreciation and understanding of the value and significance of our oral traditions to both the academic community and the wider public.”

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