Routeways and Reflections 10th International Insular Art Conference Cork and Dublin, 2 - 5 July 2025

The International Insular Art Conference, which convenes approximately every four years, is the established forum for international scholars of the visual and material culture (e.g. manuscript illumination, sculpture, metalwork, etc.) of Early Medieval Ireland and Britain. The 10th Conference will be held in Cork, Ireland, and marks the 40th anniversary of the first insular art conference that was held in the city. The papers will be delivered on the 3rd and 4th of July in University College Cork. There will also be an optional event at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin on the 2nd, where there will be a special visit to the St Gallen Exhibition and an optional daytrip on the 5th to see carved stone monuments in county Tipperary.

The theme of the 10th IIAC, Routeways and Reflections, honours the 40th anniversary of the first Insular art conference, which was held in Cork in 1985. This conference provides a chance to reflect on the scholarly achievements of the last four decades and to highlight the new routes opening up for research in the field. Cork’s position on the River Lee and its magnificent harbour reminds one of the importance of water as a means of travel and of its reflective quality. Insular art can also be reflective in many ways, e.g. of light, of the past, across different media, across regions, and of its societies. The reflective nature of Insular art and the routeways, both physical and intellectual, that enabled the transmission of techniques, materials, motifs, style, iconography, and symbolism in the past are important considerations. In addition, the conference will include a session on carved stone monuments, sponsored by the Digital Atlas of Early Irish Carved Stone project at UCC.

We look forward to welcoming you to Cork in July,
Griffin Murray & Tomás Ó Carragáin (Department of Archaeology, University College Cork)

Registration Details