June 2017

To mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Messines, we welcome friends & guests to this event, one in a series of discussions in our programme entitled. Historian, Researcher, Author & Playwright who has written extensively on the experience of Ireland & W.W.l “1917, on the Battlefield & here at home ” Proceedings will be chaired by Joe Bowers of the Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre This event is free to attend however registration is essential as spaces are limited. Please RSVP to this e-mail: messines04@hotmail.com

Guest Speaker Philip Orr

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Join us at this public conference where the continuing reinterpretation of the battle will be discussed as we approach the 100th anniversary of the ‘Battle of Mud’. The academic controversies concerning the Passchendaele campaign have often reflected differing viewpoints on British identity and the extent to which the War exemplified British values. The conference will explore how the War impacted on Britain’s communities and the impact it has had on the evolution of a shared identity. It will examine the various ways in which Britain has marked the First World War centenary, examining the social, cultural and political influences that have shaped the commemorations. As the Silk Mill Museum in Derby hosts the Weeping Window, from the installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ by Paul Cummins, this conference provides an opportunity to discuss what impact the centenary events have had on public knowledge and understanding of the Great War.

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Prof. Richard Kearney (Boston College):
'Commemoration: Trauma and Recovery'
With a response by Dr Maurice Manning, Chancellor of the National University of Ireland.

Richard Kearney holds the Charles B. Seelig Chair of Philosophy at Boston College and has been a Visiting Professor at University College Dublin, the University of Paris-Sorbonne, the Australian Catholic University and the University of Nice. He is the author of over 20 books on European philosophy and literature and has edited or co-edited 14 more. As a public intellectual, he was involved in drafting a number of proposals for a Northern Irish peace agreement (1983, 1993, 1995). He has presented five series on culture and philosophy for Irish and British television and broadcast extensively on the European media.

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The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has been active in supporting a wide range of community projects across the UK to mark the centenary of World War 1 (WW1). These projects have focussed on a very broad variety of subjects, not just focussing on the military aspects of 1914-18 but also encompassing the cultural and societal impacts of the war upon the lives of people and communities in multiple different ways. Working in partnership with the HLF, five WW1 public engagement centres have been established to connect academic researchers with community researchers to develop closer collaborations on WW1 heritage during the Centenary period. This discovery day and showcase event reflects the partnership between the HLF, its funded community WW1 heritage projects, and the five university-based WW1 public engagement centres, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Please click here to read more or for full programme click here

To mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Messines, we welcome friends & guests to this event, one in a series of discussions in our programme. This event is free to attend however registration is essential as spaces are limited. Please RSVP to this e-mail: messines04@hotmail.com

Guest Speaker Tom Hartley Author, Historian & former Lord Mayor of Belfast

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To mark the centenary of the Battle of Messines, PRONI is delighted to display an art installation entitled ‘Assembly - Memorial Chairs’ by Derbyshire Artist, Val Carman. This exhibition will be on display during PRONI's normal opening hours.

Assembly - Memorial Chairs

The five chairs are from Passendaele St Audomarus Church and will be accompanied by a beautifully constructed register of c.173,000 names of those from the UK and Ireland who lost their lives during the First World War in Belgium.

Each of the five chairs represents the casualties of one year of the war, 1914-18 (which is shown in small lead numbers on each of the chairs).

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The Battle of Messines / Mesen in June 1917 was the major British offensive of that year and, by First World War standards, it was very successful. For the first time the 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions, consisting of Irishmen from all over Ireland, attacked together. This shared sacrifice has led to some myths about Irish involvement in the war and has been the focus for memorialisation, perhaps most famously the Island of Ireland Peace Tower, unveiled in 1998.

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The five AHRC WW1 Engagement Centres are running a series of showcase events for community partners to come along and talk about their projects, meet other community groups working on WW1 projects, and to find out more about the Engagement Centres and how they can help or support. The first event took place in Cardiff in April. You can watch a short film about the event on YouTube by clicking here.

Please contact Nicola Gauld, Voices Coordinator, for more information: n.gauld@bham.ac.uk

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You are invited: The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has been active in supporting a wide range of community projects across the UK to mark the centenary of World War 1 (WW1). These projects have focussed on a very broad variety of subjects, not just on the military aspects of 1914-18 but also the cultural and societal impacts the war had upon the lives of people and communities in multiple different ways. Working in partnership with the HLF, five WW1 public engagement centres have been established to connect academic researchers with community researchers and develop closer collaborations on WW1 heritage projects during the Centenary period. This discovery day and showcase event reflects the partnership between the HLF, its funded community WW1 heritage projects, and the five university-based WW1 public engagement centres, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Please click here to read more or for full programme page 1 and page 2.

PRONI is hosting this event in conjunction with the Government of Flanders. The In Flanders' Fields Museum is a museum in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the study of the First World War.

The battle of Messines was particularly significant in the history of Ireland due to the contribution of both the 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions. Piet’s presentation will reference all the Irish regiments over the period 1914-18, as reflected in Ireland’s Memorial Records.

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Learn about the Battle of Messines with free digital workshops from the Nerve Centre’s Creative Centenaries project and use animation and digital comic book storytelling to explore the role of soldiers from the 36th (Ulster) and 16th (Irish) Divisions who fought alongside each other. Following the two hour workshop, students can also get a behind the scenes tour of PRONI’s WW1 archives and experience ‘Assembly Memorial Chairs’, In Flanders Fields Museums’ travelling art installation, inspired by the Battle of Messines. Schools have the option in their workshop to use stop motion animation or digital comic book technology to explore and learn about the battle. Students will also receive a new graphic novel following the experiences of soldiers William Redmond and John Meeke in the lead up to and throughout the Battle of Messiness, that took place in June 1917. Workshops are allocated on a first come basis. For more information and to book contact Niall Kerr at the Nerve Centre:

info@creativecentenaries.org or 028 7126 0562.

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