Our June Events at a Glance
WEST LIGHT Exhibition | 02 June – 30 June | 9.30 am – 5.30 pm | Free Susan Hughes presents a series of atmospheric paintings of breeding seabirds including Arctic
Pioneer Women of the 1930’s
Few visions of modernity are more potent than that of the itinerant interwar camerawoman: clad in trousers, ranging across public squares, valleys, and mountains, mixing with militias, and armed with a Leica or Rolleiflex. Dora Maar (1907-1997) Annemarie Schwarzenbach (1908-1942), and Gerda Taro (1910-1937) forged a new métier: the female photojournalist. Their cameras firstly set them apart, but their uniquely modernist materiality is discernible elsewhere, as this lecture will explore.
Local Stories of Rebellion & Revolution: 1798 in Co. Down
This year marks the 225th anniversary of the 1798 rebellion, during which important military engagements occurred in Saintfield and Ballynahinch. To mark this anniversary, historians Kenneth Dawson and Jonathan Wright will discuss these linked battles, offering local stories and fresh perspectives on Co. Down’s experience of rebellion and revolution.
A Word of Ulster-Scots
Liam Logan is a writer and broadcaster from North Antrim. He often refers to his homeplace as ‘the hame o the Hamely Tongue’. A native Ulster-Scots speaker and an enthusiastic promoter of Ulster-Scots, he sees it as an integral part of shared linguistic and cultural heritage.
Join Liam at The Linen Hall for a word of Ulster-Scots.
Thomas Russell’s Belfast
This event is sold out.
Marking the 235th anniversary of the establishment of The Linen Hall, this lecture will explore Belfast as Russell knew it, reflecting on the institutions Thomas Russell encountered, the relationships he forged and the distinctive urban spaces he inhabited.
Your Referendum
Professor Jon Tonge and Suzanne Breen will discuss the history of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and its referendum and ask you a question that you may or may not have had the chance to answer before: if a referendum on the Agreement was held tomorrow, how would you vote?
Getting to Good Friday
Literature and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland
Marilynn Richtarik’s book Getting to Good Friday: Literature and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland describes literary reactions and contributions to the peace process during the fifteen years preceding the Agreement and in the immediate post-conflict era, demonstrating the extent to which authors sought both to comment on and to influence contemporary political developments.
The Witch of Edmonton: Understanding the Historical Case of Mother Sawyer
Dr Jonathan Vischer is the author of the recently published historical novel, ‘The Wonderful Discovery of Elizabeth Sawyer’. Jonathan spent five years mapping the life of Elizabeth Sawyer (1572-1621), who was hanged as a witch in 1621 and is commemorated in the Jacobean tragicomedy, ‘The Witch of Edmonton’. Jonathan will read extracts from his novel and share his findings about witchcraft in post-Reformation England. He will also discuss what Sawyer’s life and death reveal about the changing status of women in Tudor and Jacobean times.
The History of Deaf People in Ireland: A Cruel Legacy
One in a thousand people are profoundly deaf from birth or early childhood. In the past, they were called ‘deaf and dumb’, a term that is now unacceptable to the modern deaf community which has British and Irish Sign Languages as its core identity. Until recently, educational policies advised hearing families not to sign, and oral methods of teaching were enforced at the residential schools in Belfast and Dublin.
Shadowing Miss Grimshaw
Beatrice Grimshaw (1870-1953), the indomitable Irish woman sailed away from Ireland to explore the South Pacific Islands, finally living for 27 years in Papua New Guinea. Here, she explored the country and the natives and wrote books for a living. Bouts of malaria eventually sent her to live in Bathurst Australia, where she died. Her biographer, Diana Gleadhill, recently shadowed her as far as she possibly could. Join Diana at The Linen Hall as she recounts the remarkable tales from her journey across the world shadowing Beatrice Grimshaw.