St Mary's has Successful Start to Lecture Series Exploring WWI in Ireland

A series of lectures organised by St Mary’s University, Twickenham exploring the impact of World War I in Ireland has proven popular with members of the public keen to learn more about how the conflict impacted the country. Hosted at St Paul’s Church, Hammersmith in conjunction with the Irish Cultural Centre, the lecture series has been organised to commemorate the centenary of WWI this year. Each of the first three talks of the series attracted more than 50 member of the public keen to find out more from Prof Joanna Bourke (Professor of History at Birkbeck College), former Director for St Mary’s Centre for Irish Studies (CIS) Jim O’Hara and Dr Anne Goudsmit, St Mary’s Visiting Lecturer who completed a PhD in Northern Irish fiction at the University. St Mary’s current Director for the Centre for Irish Studies Prof Lance Pettitt said, “We have been delighted with the response from members of the public who have attended the lectures so far.” The series has so far covered a range of topics including killing in the First World War, how the Irish people and political parties responded to changing conditions of the country, and Irish literature during the conflict. The lectures will continue on Wednesday 4th June with St Mary’s current MA Irish Studies student Peter Power-Hynes, who will present his paper ‘The London Irish Rifles Battalion on the Western Front during the First World War’. The series will conclude with St Mary’s Programme Director and Senior Lecturer Dr Ivan Gibbons’ talk on Ireland and the Aftermath of the First World War, exploring the Great War’s significant impact on Ireland after 1918 including the election of the republican Sinn Fein part and the subsequent start of the IRA war against Britain. For more information please contact Dr Ivan Gibbons on ivan.gibbons@stmarys.ac.uk or visit the Irish Cultural Centre website.