The Home Rule Crisis 1912-1914, 19-20 October 2012

This event, which has attracted a range of junior, established and senior scholars, will address a wide variety of aspects of the crisis. Particular highlights include the opening address to the conference by Professor Tom Bartlett (author of a recent, and very well-received, general history of Ireland published by Cambridge University Press), who will examine the crisis over home rule in 1912-4 in the context of Irish history over the longer term, and the closing talk by Professor Biagini (Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Cambridge University) who will perform a similar analysis of the crisis in the context of British history.

In addition to Professor Bartlett’s talk, the British Ambassador to Ireland will also speak at the official opening session of the conference, and will discuss the policy of the British government towards the ‘decade of centenaries.’ This promises to be a significant, and stimulating, contribution to the on-going debate about the commemoration process.

While the conference is free to all to attend (including any member of the public who wishes to come along) and there is no general need to register one’s interest in advance, anyone who wishes to attend the opening session is asked simply to make contact with me so that a place can be reserved for them. This is because we foresee a significant level of demand for this particular session and we wish to ensure that those who wish to attend will be able to do so.

The conference is being organised by the School of History University College Cork, with assistance from the Reconciliation Fund of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, University College Cork.