‘Medieval Irish Seafaring: realities and visions’

IOMRAMHA / VOYAGES

Three Talks on Medieval and Modern Seafaring

organized by Prof. MairÌ_n NÌ_ Dhonnchadha

All in SPEAKERS’ CORNER, GLOBAL VILLAGE, the CLADDAGH, GALWAY

(enter from Nimmo’s Pier or Grattan Road; it may take 5-10 minutes to reach the Speakers’ Corner)

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Wednesday 4 July, 6pm,

‰Û÷Medieval Irish Seafaring: realities and visions’

Speaker: Prof. MÌÁirÌ_n NÌ_ Dhonnchadha, School of Humanities, NUIG.

Chair: Mary O’Malley, Poet.

MÌÁirÌ_n NÌ_ Dhonnchadha will speak on the endurance of medieval Irish seafarers, including those who sailed the Atlantic as Christian missioners, the visions and images that sustained them, and the iconic status of figures such as Brendan the Navigator.

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Thursday, 5 July, 6pm

‰Û÷”A RÌ_ na Foidhne, glac iad ar lÌÁimh”: ́r mBÌÁid D̼chais agus an tIascach”‘

Cainteoir (i nGaeilge): An Dr CrÌ_ostÌ_ir Mac CÌÁrthaigh, AircÌ_vÌ_ Sinsearach, Cnuasach Bh̩aloideas Ìäireann, UCD.

Cathaoirleach: An Dr PÌÁdraig ÌÒ H̩alaÌ_, ScolÌÁire Gaeilge agus B̩aloidis, NUIG.

CrÌ_ostÌ_ir Mac CÌÁrthaigh is editor of the magnificent and monumental Traditional Boats in Ireland: History, Folklore and Construction (Cork 2008). He has published extensively on aspects of Irish oral literature, vernacular architecture and the material culture of Atlantic island communities. His talk, which will be in Irish, will focus on boats, fishing, and some of the associated beliefs and oral traditions of the west of Ireland.

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Friday 6 July, 6pm,

‰Û÷Science and the Age of Discovery: Spain, Portugal, and the International Atlantic in the 15th-16th Centuries’

Speaker: Dr Edward Collins, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville/UCD.

Chair: Dr Enrico Dal Lago, Historian, NUIG.

Edward Collins will present an overview of the scientific aspects of the Portuguese and Spanish discoveries in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, particularly the role of international transfer of knowledge in the areas of cartography, cosmography and the piloting of ships in the Atlantic. It will examine the importance of this transfer in advancing the scientific knowledge that propelled the expeditions of, among others, Prince Henry ‘the navigator’ in Portugal, and Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan in Spain.

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Sponsored by NUI, Galway and Ì_darÌÁs na Gaeltachta

Further information from the Organiser, Prof. MairÌ_n NÌ_ Dhonnchadha

Ollamh le Sean- agus MeÌÁn-Ghaeilge / Professor of Old and Middle Irish, Scoil na nDaonnachtaÌ_/ School of Humanities, Ollscoil na hÌäireann, Gaillimh / NUI Galway.