Dr Frank Ferguson Between the Laggan and the Foyle: The Ulster-Scots Literary Tradition in North-West Ulster Thursday 22nd November 2012 From the early eighteenth century onwards, Derry and Donegal poets are featured among the most accomplished writers in the Ulster-Scots literary tradition on the island of Ireland. In this talk he will argue that what ties these writers together is their inspired awareness of the power of everyday language to articulate the deepest of human concerns and emotions. Dr. Frank Ferguson is a lecturer in the School of English and History at the University of Ulster. He is the editor of Ulster-Scots Writing an Anthology, and co-editor and contributor to Revising Robert Burns and Ulster: Literature, Religion and Politics c. 1770–1920 and to the forthcoming Ulster-Scots and America Diaspora Literature, History and Migration, 1750–2000. He is the project manager of the MAGUS Ulster-Scots Poetry Project which aims to digitise key texts in the Ulster Scots poetry tradition and to make them accessible to schools and the public.
Island Voices is funded by Derry City Council’s Good Relations Programme. Please book your place by contacting the Tower Museum on (028) 7137 2411 or email museums@derrycity.gov.uk This document is available upon request in a number of formats including large print, Braille, PDF, audiocassette and minority languages. For further information on alternative formats please contact: Telephone (028) 71365151 Textphone: (028) 71376646 or Email: equality@derrycity.gov.uk
Island Voices Glórtha na nOileán Voyces Frae Tha Isles ‘Velvet Sea’ by artist Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh. “Rich velvet sea of salty amniotic sweetness, deep black, royal blue...“ from ‘Creation’ by Kathryn Daily
Tower Museum, Derry 27th September to 22nd November 2012
Derry City Council Autumn Lecture Series Exploring how the languages of English, Irish and Ulster-Scots shape our sense of place and cultural identity
Derry City Council invites you to Island Voices: a series of thought-provoking talks exploring the languages of English, Irish and Ulster-Scots within the context of our shared cultural heritage. This lunchtime talks series runs from September to November 2012 at the Tower Museum, Derry and features three lectures by guest-speakers exploring the languages of English, Irish and Ulster-Scots and how language conveys a sense of place and belonging. To book your place contact the Tower Museum: Tel (028) 7137 2411 | Email museums@derrycity.gov.uk Refreshments will be provided. Admission Free.
Róise Ní Bhaoill Ulster Gaelic Voices: The Wilhelm Doegen recordings of 1931 Thursday 27th September 2012 – 1.00pm Doegen’s recordings provide a fascinating insight into the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the Irish language from the 1930s. This talk features remastered recordings of the voices of native speakers of Irish from that time. Róise is from Ranafast in the Donegal Gaeltacht but has spent most of her working life in Belfast where she is Deputy Director of the ULTACH Trust. She has edited the MERCATOR Dossier ‘Irish language in education in Northern Ireland’ and is Joint-Editor of Gaelic-medium education provision: Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. She is also the author of Taisce Focal: Little Stories for Big People. Her latest publication, Ulster-Gaelic Voices: Bailiúchán Doegen 1931, presents a unique record of 1930s native Irish speakers from the lost Gaeltachts of Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Louth and Tyrone. Lately, she has contributed an article on language and population change in 19th century Donegal to the forthcoming Historical Atlas of Donegal.
Eamonn Hughes The Place of Writing Thursday 25th October 2012 – 1.00pm Irish writers, particularly those from the North, are obsessed with place in all its forms. This talk will look at how writers use language both to comment on real places and to construct imaginative geographies. Eamonn Hughes is a senior lecturer in the School of English at Queen's University, Belfast, where he is Director of Education. He is also Assistant Director of the Institute of Irish Studies at the university. His current interests are in Irish autobiography and concepts of place in Irish writing. He specialises in Irish Literary and Cultural Studies, on which he has published widely. His short history of Irish literature was broadcast by BBC NI in 50 episodes from April to June 2009. He was also a contributor to the LiteraryBelfast.org website and iPhone app, both of which are now available.
Island Voices Glórtha na nOileán Voyces Frae Tha Isles Tower Museum, Derry 27th September to 22nd November 2012