President Higgins, US Congressman to address global event from Derry

Politicians, academics and writers from across the globe will discuss ‘Heritage, Healing and Home’ at the American Conference for Irish Studies 2021 which is to be broadcast from UU Magee in Derry next week (June 2 -5).
By The Newsroom
Published 28th May 2021, 13:20 BST
Malachy O'Néill, Provost, Ulster University, Kieran Kennedy, MD, O’Neills, and artist and recent graduate, Carla Fulton, with the newly designed O’Neills commemorative jersey for the American Conference for Irish Studies which will be hosted virtually from Ulster University’s Magee Campus on June 2-5. Carla Fulton designed the digital artwork featured on the jersey.Malachy O'Néill, Provost, Ulster University, Kieran Kennedy, MD, O’Neills, and artist and recent graduate, Carla Fulton, with the newly designed O’Neills commemorative jersey for the American Conference for Irish Studies which will be hosted virtually from Ulster University’s Magee Campus on June 2-5. Carla Fulton designed the digital artwork featured on the jersey.
Malachy O'Néill, Provost, Ulster University, Kieran Kennedy, MD, O’Neills, and artist and recent graduate, Carla Fulton, with the newly designed O’Neills commemorative jersey for the American Conference for Irish Studies which will be hosted virtually from Ulster University’s Magee Campus on June 2-5. Carla Fulton designed the digital artwork featured on the jersey.

The international conference, hosted by Ulster University, features contributions from President Michael D. Higgins Congressman Brendan Boyle and both the UK and Irish Ambassadors to the US, Dame Karen Pierce and Dan Mulhall. These particular talks will be available to watch live online.

The line-up also includes film-maker Maurice Fitzpatrick (‘John Hume in America’ and ‘The Boys of St Columb’s’), journalist Susan McKay (presenting her new work on Northern Protestants) and a preview of the new digitised edition of the famed manuscript, ‘The Cathach of Colum Cille’.

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Professor Malachy Ó Néill, Irish language scholar and Provost of the Ulster University Magee campus, said: “Ulster University is delighted to host the ACIS 2021 conference and to welcome academics from 110 different institutions across the world to this global conversation. This event is the academic highlight of the year-long commemoration of Colm Cille (Saint Columba), patron of the city of Derry and the wider North West and one of the most significant figures in early European Christianity.”

Professor Mo Hume, Board member of the John and Pat Hume Foundation, added: “The Hume Foundation is delighted to partner with ACIS and Ulster University on this major conference in Derry. My father was guided in all his work by these themes and by his rootedness in Derry. To understand John Hume, you need to understand Derry. He recognised the importance of ‘place’ in not only shaping his identity but also in offering him his formative lessons in politics.”

The keynote address by President Michael D. Higgins will be broadcast on Thursday, June 4 (5pm). Drawing inspiration from his recently published book, ‘Reclaiming the European Street’, the President of Ireland will be speaking on the topics of home, land, heritage and healing, with reference to the region’s patron saint Colmcille.

The address by Congressman Brendan Boyle, as well as the speeches by Ambassadors Dame Karen Pierce and Dan Mulhall, will all be broadcast online as will a special documentary showcasing The Columban Heritage Trail.

All public events will be live streamed at a ACIS 2021 You Tube Channel: ACIS 2021 - YouTube

A full programme is available at: www.acis2021.com

Related topics:Michael D. HigginsDerry