Major Civil War seminar to be hosted in Mayo courthouse

Mayo County Council has announced a major seminar on the Civil War on Saturday, October 8, as part of its Decade of Centenaries programme.

This will be a day-long series of talks on various aspects of the Civil War to be held in Castlebar Courthouse.

There will be talks by historians on various aspect of the war throughout the day – the national picture, the local aspects, the role of women and reconciliation.

Speakers will include Professor Diarmaid Ferriter, Professor Linda Connolly and Dominic Price.

The final event will be a conversation between Éamon O Cuiv, grandson of Eamon De Valera, and Nora Owen, grandniece of Michael Collins which will be a hugely symbolic event as we approach the end of the Decade of Centenaries commemorations.

The seminar will be accompanied by a display of rare items relating to the Civil War which will be on loan from the Jackie Clarke Collection.

Austin Vaughan, Mayo Decade of Centenaries coordinator, explained “The seminar will not seek to find a single agreed narrative on what was a very complex part of Irish history.

"Instead, it will try to find what the government's Expert Advisory Group on Commemorations describes as ‘meaningful engagements with a difficult and traumatic time.

"This will be our last Decade of Centenaries event and we hope it will be a very special affair”.

The seminar is free to the public but spaces will be limited. This seminar is part of the Wild Atlantic Words Festival.