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The First Chris Williams Memorial Colloquium on Ireland and Wales
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The School of History at University College Cork is pleased to host the First Chris Williams Memorial Colloquium on Ireland and Wales, an initiative of the School of History and the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd November 2025 (O’Rahilly Building, Room G27).
This year’s theme, Gerald of Wales: Identity, Afterlives and Wonders, brings together scholars exploring the many dimensions of the twelfth-century Cambro-Norman cleric and writer Giraldus Cambrensis (c. 1126–1223). Gerald’s connection to Ireland lies in his family’s central role in the Anglo-Norman invasion and settlement of the country, and his writings on Ireland, namely the Expugnatio Hibernica and Topographia Hibernica.
Among the event’s contributors are UCC historians Dr Hiram Morgan and Dr Diarmuid Scully, who have written on Gerald of Wales and his influence. Their publications, including Dr Scully’s article ‘The Remonstrance of Irish Princes, 1317’ (History Ireland, 2013) and Dr Morgan’s recent piece ‘A View of 17th Century Ireland by Oliver Cromwell's Doctor’ (RTE Brainstorm, 2025), represent just a sample of the type of research that will be presented.
The event will commence on Friday, 21st November, at 12:00pm with a keynote address by Professor Huw Pyrce (Professor Emeritus, Bangor University). All who knew or worked with Professor Chris Williams are especially welcome to attend. The keynote will be followed by a light lunch in the social area near ORB G27, giving attendees the opportunity to connect and remember Chris.
The full programme is available below. Admission is free. For queries, please contact Dr Natasha Dukelow (ndukelow@ucc.ie)
Organisers: Dr Natasha Dukelow, Dr Hiram Morgan and Dr Diarmuid Scully (University College Cork)
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Friday 21st November
(Venue: Room G27, O’Rahilly Building)
12:00–13:00: Keynote Address — Professor Huw Pryce (Professor Emeritus at Bangor University)
Light Lunch Provided — ORB Social Area (near G27)
Session 1: 14:00 – 15:00
14:00–14:30
‘The One vs the Many: Descriptions of Irish Individuals and Groups in the Works of Gerald of Wales’
Dr Daryl Hendley Rooney (Deputy Curator, Little Museum of Dublin)
14:30–15:00
‘Gerald of Wales, Martyrdom and the “Becket Problem” in Twelfth-Century Britain and Ireland’
Dr Jesse Harrington (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies)
Session 2: 15:30–17:00
15:30–16:00
‘Ireland and the Irish in Gerald of Wales’s Gemma Ecclesiastica’
Dr Natasha Dukelow (University College Cork)
16:00–16:30
‘Gerald and the Irish Church: Literate Barbarians and Failed Pastors’
Dr Damian Bracken (University College Cork)
16:30–17:00
‘Bede’s Presence and Absence in Gerald of Wales’ Topographica Hiberniae’
Dr Diarmuid Scully (University College Cork)
Saturday 22nd November
(Venue: Room G27, O’Rahilly Building)
Session 1: 10:00–11:00
10:00–10:30
‘Gerald, Merlin and Welsh Prophecy’
Dr Ben Guy (University of Cambridge)
10:30–11:00
‘An Apology for Gerald’ [presenting online]
Professor Thomas Charles-Edwards (University of Oxford)
Session 2: 11:30–13:00
11:30–12:00
‘The Pen and the Sword: Gerald of Wales, Meiler fitz Henry, and Welsh Marcher Political Fortunes in Angevin Ireland’
Nicholas Scollard (Independent Scholar)
12:00–12:30
‘From Pembrokeshire to Cork: Gerald’s Colonial Shadow’
Dr Caoimhe Whelan (University of Glasgow)
12:30–13:00
‘Peripherality and Treachery: Comparing Gerald of Wales’ and Henry of Livonia’s Colonial Representations of Ireland and the Baltic’
Richard Keyes McDonnell (University College Cork)
Session 3: 14:00–15:30
14:00–14:30
‘Silvester Giraldus: Seventeenth-Century Irish Attacks on Gerald’s Character’
Dr Jason Harris (University College Cork)
14:30–15:00
‘Refuting Cambrensis in the Seventeenth-Century Historical Narratives: Some Epistemological Observations’ [presenting online]
Dr Feliks Levin (Aarhus University)
15:00–15:30
‘Hooker, Hanmer and Boate: Protestant uses of Giraldus Cambrensis in the Early Modern Conquest of Ireland’
Dr Hiram Morgan (University College Cork)
15:30 Closing Remarks
Professor Anti Selart (University of Tartu)
For more on this story contact:
Dr Natasha Dukelow (ndukelow@ucc.ie)