Thursday 24th November 2016 at 10.00 am – 12.00 pm
Speakers: Johnston McMaster, Eamonn Deane, Cathy Higgins
Key events in the decade between 1912-1922 shaped the social, political and cultural landscape of Ireland today. Two of the key centennial anniversaries, the Rising and The Somme, have now passed. While the Rising and the Somme played significant roles in creating the foundational documents for North and South, there are upcoming anniversaries that need to be interrogated to understand the legacy of that time, which informs our lived experience in the present.
Johnston will reflect on the Rising and Somme commemorative events and explore key themes that have emerged; violence, democracy and the common good. Placing the decade within the wider context, he will explore upcoming commemorative events of the decade including the end of WW1, the Paris Peace Conference and the partition of Ireland.
Eamonn will apply his years of experience of working in the third sector to explore creative commemorating that can pave the way towards a creative and imaginative future.
Cathy will explore gender relations within the decade, the impact of
which is still being played out today in Ireland, North and South.
Admission free
Please register for hospitality purposes
Email mhetherington@thejunction-ni.org
Or ring 02871261941
For more information please go to diversecity or derrystrabane.com/centenaries
4 guest speakers and Chair @ Fellowship of Messines Association “Hedge School” event as part of the “Somme 100” Programme.
Even before the beginning of the war and the very first day of battle, writers had taken up their pens to describe their surroundings, their feelings and experiences; to relate, understand, bear witness, exorcise or justify what they were seeing. These writers, enlisted in war and dedicated to writing, shared their experiences with thousands of other soldiers, but better than anyone else, these men could describe them to the world. Through this exhibition, which includes theatrical or artistic performances, the public will be invited to discover the history of these writers, and also put pen to paper themselves to bring themselves a little closer to the authors of the Great War.
