Conference of the American Society of Irish Medieval Studies

Glenstal Abbey, September 22nd–September 24th, 2017

Comhdháil Éireann An Cumann Meiriceánach um Léann na Meánaoise Éireannaí

Mainistir Ghleann Stáil, 22ú Mheán Fomhair–24ú Deireadh Fomhair

Thursday 21st September (Dublin events)

17.30: Evensong at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
18.30: ASIMS Reception in St. Patrick’s Cathedral Deanery (generously hosted by William Morton, the dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral).

Friday 22nd September

Conference attendees make their own way to Glenstal (Glenstal is c. 3hrs from Dublin).
18.00 Registration and Welcome
19.15 Supper with Monastic Community

20.00: Keynote Address: Colmán Ó Clabaigh (Glenstal Abbey), ‘When Brothers Live in Unity’: the Eucharist and Social Cohesion in Late Medieval Ireland.

21.30: Reception

Saturday 23rd September

Breakfast 07.30

8.30-10.00 Session 1

  • Speaker 1: Brian Ó Broin (William Paterson U, NJ), How did the Early Irish Saints Acquire Land for their Establishments?
  • Speaker 2: Westley Follett (U of Southern Mississippi), Holy Men From the Sea: Origins of Monastic Life in Ireland.
  • Speaker 3: Laura McCloskey Wolfe (George Mason U, VA), Exploring Meditatio and Memoria in Ireland through the Book of Durrow: Theological and Artistic Traditions Intersect in Manuscript Illumination.

10.00-10.30 Coffee/Tea in the Library

10.30-12.00 noon Session 2

  • Speaker 4: Fiona Beglane (with James Bonsall) (IT Sligo), Dísert: a Place Apart.
  • Speaker 5: Jimmy Schryver (U of Minnesota), Inhabiting the Landscape: The O’Conors and their Integration with the Land in Late-Medieval Ireland.
  • Speaker 6: Miriam Clyne (U of Dublin), The Landscape and Settlement of Kilmacduagh: Change and Continuity.

12.10 Conventual Mass in the Abbey Church
12.45 Lunch in the school’s boardroom

14.00 – 15.30 Session 3

  • Speaker 7: Thomas Finan (Saint Louis U, MO), Medieval Lough Key Archaeological Project, 2014-17: A Study of a Gaelic Lordship in the Thirteenth Century.
  • Speaker 8: James Lyttleton (Independent Scholar), Scottish settlement in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-century Ulster, an Archaeological Perspective.
  • Speaker 9: D Blair Gibson (El Camino College, CA) and Susan Saul (California State U, Los Angeles), Viewing Maya Political Systems through Irish Eyes.

15.30 – 16.00 Coffee/Tea, in the library

16.30 – 17.30 Session 4

  • Speaker 10: Katja Ritari (U of Helsinki), Remembering the Saints in Félire Oengusso.
  • Speaker 11: Nora White (U of Limerick), Layout, Carving and Epigraphy of Ogham in Ireland.
  • Speaker 12: Niamh Wycherley (NUI, Galway), The Enduring Power of the Cult of Relics — an Early Irish Perspective.

18.00 Monastic Vespers
19.15 Supper with the Monastic Community

Sunday 24th September

Sunday 10.00: Conventual Mass

11.15 – 12.15 Session 5

  • Speaker 13: Margaret Murphy (Carlow College), Objects and Identity: a Consideration of ‘Things’ in Late-Medieval Ireland.
  • Speaker 14: Emerson Storm Richards (Indiana U), Apocalypse, Then: A Comparative Analysis of Ninth through Thirteenth Century Irish, Carolingian, and Anglo-Norman Representations of Apocalypse in the Visual Cultures.

Sunday 12.30: Outing/Field Trip to Cashel, Holy Cross, and Athassel, led by Br. Colmán Ó Clabaigh.

Conference Organizing Committee

Brian Ó Broin
Shannon Ambrose
James Lyttleton

Conference Fees

Residential Accommodation is now full.
Registration (includes attendance at lectures and presentations, teas, coffees, and snacks): €100/$110 (Unwaged: €80/$90).
If you plan to register, please notify Brian Ó Broin (obroinb@wpunj.edu) by the 15th September.

Nearby accommodation can be found by contacting the Abbey. The Abbey recommends the following venues for non-residential delegates wishing to stay over. Please contact the venues directly and make your own arrangements.

B&B: Rinnaknock (beside the Abbey): 061 386 189
B&B: Millbank (some 5 miles distance): 061 386 115
Hotel: Kilmurry Lodge (nr University of Limerick): 061 331 133
Hotel: Castle Oaks (Castleconnell): 061 377 666

Getting to Glenstal Abbey:

http://www.glenstal.org/contact/directions/
We plan to run a minibus from Dublin on Friday morning, returning on Monday morning. Please let Brian Ó Broin know if you plan to take the minibus (obroinb@wpunj.edu).

Conference Flyer

Please feel free to download and distribute our conference flyer and schedule.

About ASIMS

ASIMS is a multi-disciplinary society promoting trans-Atlantic collaboration in research on medieval Ireland. The Society sponsors regular panels for current Irish research at the annual International Congress of Medieval Studies (ICMS) at Kalamazoo, MI, and is represented at regional conferences in the USA, such as the South-Eastern Medievalists Association (SEMA). The Society publishes Eolas as its peer-reviewed annual journal, volume 10 appearing in May 2017.

The Ireland Conference 2017 is the third meeting of the Society in Ireland, and will present leading scholarship on the period between 500AD and 1650 AD from medievalists working in Europe and North America.

For more information, see www.asims.org or email: AmericanSocietyIrishMedieval@gmail.com