Past Events
Women and War: Ireland and the Twentieth Century
- Venue: Newcastle University
- Start: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 09:00:00 GMT
- End: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 19:00:00 GMT
Keynote Speaker: Dr Moynagh Sullivan (NUI Maynooth)
The purpose of this day is to gather together researchers who are interested in discussing the role of women in Ireland throughout the prolonged periods of conflict and unrest that marked the twentieth century. The day will include a keynote address and a round-table discussion by a panel of experts on the way that women have been effected by war during the twentieth century and how this has been represented. There will also be readings by creative writers who have an interest in this subject. Multi-media and interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged.
Ireland in the twentieth century was beset by conflict, trauma and war. This has had a detrimental effect on the lives of all who have lived throughout these times, which continues to impact on women’s lives. War within Ireland’s context has had particular connotations for how women have been placed within society and for progressing feminist struggles. Women continue to fight to find a platform for their stories and to be part of the public discussions both about the historic and current political debates concerning conflict and war.
Recent commemorative projects have focused on the history of wars in Ireland: WWI during the political unrest in Ireland, the approaching centenary of the 1916 Rebellion, the events that ultimately led to Ireland’s independence and the creation of the separate six counties of Northern Ireland. In addition Ireland’s neutrality during WWII impacted all of Ireland, but particularly the border regions between north and south until long after the Emergency was over, thus bringing continued trauma into women’s lives. The thirty years of the Northern Ireland Troubles extended war into the streets and homes, and women bore the hardships of poverty, loss of housing and employment, imprisonment, grief and often daily fear.
Women’s experiences and responses to these events need to heard. This symposium questions women’s roles during times of war, how their lives were impacted by the effects of war, how they are represented in times of war, how they are reflecting back or memorialising their experiences of the war, the part women are playing in the peace process in Northern Ireland, and how women conceive the impact of war on their identities.