We were delighted to have recently worked in partnership with the Classical Association Northern Ireland (CANI) to host an event which discussed Ireland and the Roman world – So near and yet so far: Ireland in Classical Antiquity.

The Discovery Programme: Centre for Archaeology and Innovation established the Late Iron Age and ‘Roman’ Ireland Project in 2011 to investigate the nature and impact of interactions between Ireland and the Roman world, particularly Roman Britain. The project, led by Dr Jacquiline Cahill, presented new insights through archaeology for the first five centuries AD (i.e. up to 500AD), and shed light on a range of topics, including the movement of people into Ireland in the first centuries AD and important evidence of contact with the Roman world in the first to the third centuries AD, with evidence for trading links to Britain, Spain and Gaul.

We recorded the presentation for those unable to attend. In the video below, Dr John O’Keeffe, CEO of the Discovery Programme, presents an overview of the project, along with observations about potential new lines of enquiry and recent discoveries.