The Old School (Little Theatre), Dublin Road, Skerries, Co. Dublin K34 K377
Tickets €10 (€5 students, unemployed, OAPs)
Venue will accommodate a maximum of 120 people. Consequently, we are obliged to allocate tickets on a first come, first served basis.
All attendees will receive a limited edition copy of Invitation to Opening Session of First Dáil, signed by Harry Boland.
Running order
10am Welcome and Introduction from Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh, Mayor of Fingal
The Life and Times of Harry Boland – Derek Molyneux
Derek Molyneux is co-author of Killing at its Very Extreme, Dublin 1917 – 1920 (Mercier Press 2020), When the Clock Struck in 1916 (The Collins Press 2015) and Those of us Who Must Die (The Collins Press 2017).
Harry Boland’s Political Family from 1798 to the 1970s – Donnacha DeLong and Stephen Kelly
Donnacha DeLong is a journalist and trade unionist. He grew up in Dublin and now lives in London. Donnacha is a great grandnephew of Harry Boland and a great grandson of Gerry Boland.
Donnacha will be joined by Stephen Kelly, Professor of Modern Irish History and British-Irish Relations at Liverpool Hope University. Stephen is publishing a biography of Gerald Boland.
Perspectives and Discussion
11.30am Tae nó caife agus comhrá.
Opportunity to engage with Dublin Brigade Irish Volunteers History Group Exhibition
and purchase speakers’ books.
12:00 noon: Revolutionary Women: Extraordinary Women during Extraordinary Times
Context provided by extract from Military History Testimony of Kathleen Boland, as recorded by daughter, Eileen Barrington.
Speakers: Dr Margaret Ward and Lisa Connell
Dr Margaret Ward is Honorary Senior Lecturer in History at Queen’s University, Belfast. She is a feminist historian, with a particular interest in the contribution of Irish women to political movements in the 20th century. Dr Ward has authored Unmanageable Revolutionaries: Women and Irish Nationalism (1995) and a biography of Hanna Sheehy Skeffington: A Life (1997), Hanna Sheehy Skeffington: Suffragette and Sinn Feiner (2017), and Fearless Woman (2019).
Lisa Connell is Assistant General Secretary at Fórsa Trade Union. Lisa, along with two friends, started and ran the Rosie Hackett Bridge Campaign where the campaign was successful in ensuring the newest bridge in Dublin, at the time, was called after trade unionist, socialist and founding member of the Irish Women’s Workers Union, Rosie Hackett. Lisa is currently Co-Chair of the Countess Markievicz Summer School, which runs an annual summer school in Liberty Hall. Lisa is also the Chairperson of the Trade Union Section of the Labour Party.
1pm Lón agus comhrá
Opportunity to engage with Dublin Brigade Irish Volunteers History Group Exhibition and purchase speakers’ books.
2pm Skerries and the Irish Revolution – Gerard Shannon
Gerard Shannon is a historian and resident of Skerries, Co. Dublin. He has an MA in History from DCU. Gerard is completing a biography on the IRA Chief-of-Staff, Liam Lynch, which will be published by Merrion Press in September 2022.
2.30pm A Civil War Tragedy: The Hales Brothers – Liz Gillis
Historian and author, Liz Gillis is from the Liberties. She has a Diploma in Classical Animation Studies and a Degree in Irish History. Liz is the author of six books about the Irish Revolution including, ‘Women of the Irish Revolution’, ‘The Hales Brothers and the Irish Revolution’ and co-wrote ‘We Were There: 77 Women of the Easter Rising’. In 2018 Liz was a recipient of the Lord Mayor’s Award for her contribution to history.
3pm Harry Boland and the Civil War in Dublin – John Dorney
John Dorney is an independent historian and chief editor and writer of The Irish Story, the online Irish History resource. John completed a Masters Thesis on the 16th century Irish chieftain Florence McCarthy. In 2017, Dorney’s second book, The Irish Civil War in Dublin, the fight for the Irish capital 1922-1924 was published by Merrion Press to very positive reviews.
3.30pm Perspectives and Discussion
Donal O’Donovan (great grandnephew) on piano: Mise Éire
Harry Boland Centenary Commemoration 