Public lecture on the Easter Rising 1916
Tue, 17 May 2016 12:51:00 BST
On the morning of 27 April, Professor Jim McAuley (Director, IRCAHS) and Dr Shaun McDaid (Research Fellow) delivered a public lecture on their research on the history and memory of Ireland’s Easter Rebellion of 1916, and the Battle of the Somme at Bradford Mechanics Institute Library. The duo, who have published extensively on Ireland north and south, were invited to deliver the talk by the members of Bradford World War One Group.
The lecture began with Dr McDaid outlining the key events of Easter week 1916, with a particular focus on the nature of the violence perpetrated by both the rebels and British forces. He went on to discuss the commemoration of the Rising in both parts of Ireland, noting the significance that the peace process in Northern Ireland and IRA decommissioning has had on commemorative practices particularly in the Irish Republic.
Professor McAuley then discussed the pivotal importance of the Battle of the Somme in unionist and loyalist collective memory and identity. He explored how the Battle has been commemorated, and how modern-day loyalist paramilitaries have attempted to draw legitimacy from the immense sacrifice made on the Western Front by the original Ulster Volunteer Force, which, when war broke out in 1914, became the famous 36th Ulster Division.
The lecture concluded with a lively question and discussion session. A crowd of forty people were in attendance, proof of the significant public interest in the topic.
[Pictured above - Professor Jim McAuley and (inset) Dr Shaun McDaid]
