Past Talks
Since its foundation in 1955 the Society’s principal activity has been the presentation of talks by members or invited guests on topics relating to Ireland and Irish heritage in Australia. In that time several hundred talks have been given. From 1974 many of those talks were audio recorded and we hold copies of those recordings from 1974 to 2008 and from 2014 to 2017, numbering in all 198 talks of variable quality. Since 2020, when during Covid we began to livestream our meetings via Zoom, the talks given to the Society have been video recorded, accumulating at the rate of about seven per year. In addition, we hold copies of manuscripts of some 56 talks, some dating back to the 1950s and 1960s. Access to these recordings is available to members and to researchers upon application to the Honorary Secretary. A list of recorded talks held by the Society is available here.
Summaries of talks and events back to 2011 can be viewed below.
2019 TALKS
February
After the Annual General Meeting Dr Ellie Crookes gave a talk entitled “Maud Gonne: Ireland’s Joan of Arc” in which she examined the alignment of Maud Gonne with Joan of Arc and discussed the significance of her medievalisation.
March
The Aisling St Patrick’s Day Dinner was held on 22 March 2019 at Parliament House, Sydney. The guest speaker was the former ABC TV presenter, Kerry O’Brien, who spoke about his family who emigrated to Australia from Ireland during the Famine.
April
Due to a venue difficulty no meeting was held.
May
Dr Jeanette Mollenhauer gave a talk entitled “Dancing at the Southern Crossroads” on Irish dancing in Australia.
June
In the presence of the Irish Minister of State for the Diaspora, Ciaran Cannon TD, Mary Barthelemy spoke on “The Song of the Camán – Hurling in Sydney 1884-1910” in which she discussed the development of hurling in Sydney, arguing that it was a strand in a Celtic knot that was intricate and culturally rich rather than an aspect of “ghettoisation”.
July
Sr Vivienne Keely spoke about her recent book on Michael Hayes, a 1798 rebel transported to New South Wales, whose letters home reveal a colourful and tragic life marked by attempts to stem the loss of family and friends.
August
At the mid-year lunch the Irish Consul-General Owen Feeney gave an interesting talk on his career and his time in Sydney as well as on the situation in Ireland, including what is happening over Brexit.
September
Eleanor Deep spoke on ‘“Far from the hills of my own native home”: Irish and Scottish Migrants in Colonial New South Wales’
October
Dr Eddie Jackson gave a detailed analysis of Brexit and what it means for Ireland and the peace process in Northern Ireland. His address was preceded by a talk by the Consul-General, Owen Feeney, on the Irish government’s attitude to the Brexit negotiations.
November
At our Christmas Party, Dr Pamela O’Neill gave a talk on 1500 years of Irish Christmases.
