June 2010 Irish Conference of Medievalists

NUI Galway will host the Irish Conference of Medievalists from 25–27 June 2010. More than 70 medievalists from Ireland, Australia, Finland, Germany, the US and the UK will come together for the 24th annual gathering to attend a series of 15 sessions covering the latest research in history, literature and archaeology. The keynote address on Friday 25 June, will be given by Professor Thomas Charles-Edwards and is entitled 'Wales and the Irish, 400–700,' Professor Charles-Edwards is the author of the acclaimed study Early Christian Ireland (Cambridge 2007), which the journal History described as 'THE definitive book on Ireland between the fourth and ninth centuries.' Further sessions of the conference will cover a range of subjects from crowd control in sixth-century Clonmacnoise to sheela-na-gigs (often obscene female figures found on the walls of medieval churches). Two areas of special emphasis will be panels on the Amrae Coluimb Chille, the Old Irish lament for St Columba, and reports on the latest work done by the Discovery programme, the public institution set up to pursue advanced research in Irish archaeology. NUI Galway's Dr Jacopo Bisagni, chair of the Galway organising committee, said, 'The Irish Conference of Medievalists is one of the largest medieval conferences in Ireland, so it's a real privilege for us to host it this year. All of us in Galway are looking forward to three days of interesting papers and good craic.' -Ends-