Thank You!

Due to some necessary recovery time, these words of thanks are slightly belated but no less sincere. (Better late than never, right?!) The success of the conference was overwhelmingly due to the universally high quality scholarship presented throughout the conference, and I’ve had very many comments on just how enjoyable, engaging, and challenging it was for members of the audience and fellow delegates to have the opportunity to listen to, reflect upon, and respond to such brilliant presentations. Thanks again to all who had a hand in making this event the great success that it was; I very much look forward to seeing you all at next year’s conference!

Less than 48 Hours to go!

It all kicks off tomorrow afternoon at 2 with the pre-conference tour of Marsh’s Library conducted by Keeper, Jason McElligott. This is strictly for people who have previously registered, but there are still a couple of places left. If you’d like to join in on the tour, email the organizer (cmorin AT tcd DOT ie) as soon as possible. The plan is to meet at Marsh’s Library about 5 minutes before 2; a small group of participants will also be meeting at Trinity’s front arch at 13:40 to walk to the library together.

A Tantalizing Taste

With just a few days to go until the 2012 annual Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society conference, here’s a tempting taste of what’s to come in the form of an abstract for Professor James Chandler’s plenary lecture, ‘Maria Edgeworth, Edmund Burke and the First Irish Ulysses’:

More than a century before Joyce’s use of the Odyssey to frame his famous novel, Maria Edgeworth produced her own influential treatment  of those Homeric materials in The Absentee (1812). In her hands, the narrative of the hero’s incognito return takes on the inflections of her own moment, especially from the writings of Edmund Burke on the problems of absentee rule. Burke’s thought is as much a part of the frame of this novel as Homer’s epic is, and Edgeworth brings the Odyssey and Burke together to pose a certain problem of sentiment.  It was in this vein that Sir Walter Scott, an avowed disciple of Edgeworth’s novel, redeployed the Ulysses motif in Ivanhoe (1819).  The paper will also include some speculations about James Barry’s 1778 painting of himself with Edmund Burke, that latter in the character of
Ulysses.

For those who have yet to register for the lecture at the Royal Irish Academy, I’m afraid you’re out of luck, as the discourse is fully booked. I have been assured, however, that no one will be turned away, so come along on Friday at 6 pm if you’d like to hear more about this fascinating subject.

There’s Still Time to Register

There’s less than two weeks left until the 2012 Annual Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society Conference, and there are nearly 80 people already registered. If you haven’t had a chance/have been too busy/have forgotten to register, don’t panic! You can still register this week and next,though if you’re interested in attending the conference dinner on the evening of Saturday, 23 June, at the fantastic Trocadero restaurant, be sure to do this by 5 pm on Friday, 15 June. Unfortunately, it won’t be possible to add to the reservation from that date, so contact the conference organizer as soon as possible at cmorin AT tcd DOT ie, or fill in and send (by email or snail mail) the registration form here. Don’t miss out!

Don’t Forget: Register Now for James Chandler’s Lecture

There are already over 100 people registered for Professor James Chandler’s plenary lecture, ‘Maria Edgeworth, Edmund Burke, and the First Irish Ulysses’, at the Royal Irish Academy on the evening of Friday, 22 June. The lecture begins at 6pm, is followed by a wine reception, and promises a stimulating new look at Maria Edgeworth’s 1812 novel, The Absentee, as well as its social and cultural contexts. If you haven’t yet registered for the event, which begins at 6pm and will be followed by a wine reception, be sure to visit the RIA website to do so asap! It’s free and will only take a minute.

Finalized Programme Now Ready

After much anticipation, the finalized programme for the upcoming conference is now available! You can read about all the panels, plenaries, walking tours and library visits scheduled for the duration of the conference here: Final Programme_28_5_12. Otherwise, you can read and download the conference programme by clicking on the ‘Programme’ page above.

As you will see from the programme, the Keeper of Marsh’s Library, Dr. Jason McElligott, is offering a guided tour of the library on the afternoon of Thursday, 21 June, as a pre-conference activity for interested delegates and ECIS members. The tour will highlight some of the library’s wonderful, if largely unknown, eighteenth-century collections, including Swift’s heavily annotated copy of Clarendon’s History of the Rebellion. Space is limited to 15 people and will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please email the conference organizer directly cmorin AT tcd DOT ie to register your interest.

Register Now or Pay the Price!

The discounted registration fees for this year’s conference – a very wallet-friendly € 50 for employed participants and an even more economical € 25 for students and unwaged participants – is only valid for one more week. After Friday, 1 June,  registration fees will increase by € 20, making it a wise move to register sooner rather than later! Registration forms can be viewed and downloaded from the ‘Registration’ page above. Otherwise, simply email the conference organizer at cmorin AT tcd DOT ie with all the pertinent information.

Postgraduate Bursary Recipients Announced

This year, due to the kind benefaction of Marsh’s Library, Dublin and the Centre for Irish-Scottish and Comparative Studies at Trinity College Dublin, we’ve had the opportunity to offer several postgraduate bursaries for postgrads speaking at the upcoming conference. These bursaries will go towards registration and accommodation costs for the successful applicants, hopefully making it much easier – financially at least – for them to participate and enjoy all the great papers, lectures and activities planned for this year’s conference. Given the large number of very strong applications for the bursaries this year, the decision was an extremely difficult one to make. Ultimately, however, bursaries were awarded to the following postgraduate students:

Hélène Daviot (Université de Rouen), who will be delivering a paper titled ‘Loyalism and Parliamentary Union: The Emergence of a Transnational Identity’;

Macdara Dwyer (University College London), who will be delivering a paper titled  ‘‘The most celebrated antiquarian of the present or any age’: Newton’s Reputation and an Irish Antiquarian Dispute’;

Timothy Mc Inerney (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle), who will be delivering a paper titled ‘Irish Nobility and Ideas of Humanity in Oliver Goldsmith’s History of the Earth (1774)’.

Congratulations to the bursary recipients, and thanks again to everyone who took the time and effort to apply!

Pre-register Now for Professor James Chandler’s Lecture

A while back, I posted about an exciting plenary lecture to be given at this year’s ECIS conference by Professor James Chandler (University of Chicago). The lecture is titled ‘Maria Edgeworth, Edmund Burke and the First Irish Ulysses’, and it’s being hosted by the Royal Irish Academy as part of its Academy Discourses series. The lectures in this series are open to the public and tend to attract very large audiences, so pre-registration is essential to avoid disappointment. This can be done, free of charge, here. Do take a moment to register if you’re planning to attend the lecture, or else you might be stuck standing or, worse, turned away!

Conference Poster Ready

With just over a month and a half until this year’s ECIS conference, here’s a poster for circulating to colleagues, putting up on your door, and pasting all over your workplace!