From the Famine to the Troubles: Irish History and the Cinema

Nottingham Irish Studies Group and Nottingham Irish Centre present From the Famine to the Troubles: Irish History and the Cinema, a series of weekly talks and films on Monday evenings, starting on Monday 28th September with historian, Dr. Patrick Murphy.

£3 per session, pay on the door (cash only). All fees donated to the Irish Centre’s community outreach program and welfare hub.

The struggle for Irish independence had a profound effect on the nature of the Irish state that emerged in 1922, but also on the course of history in Great Britain. This course takes a new and innovative approach to looking at this period of Irish history through talks, discussion, and the medium of film. Historian, Dr. Patrick Murphy, will look at six crucial developments, from the Great Famine of 1846–49 to the revolutionary era of 1916–23 and the Northern Ireland Troubles of 1969–98.

Each segment will be split into two weeks, with the first week being devoted to a talk and discussion, and the following week to a film related to the subject. These will include the Great Famine; the Easter Rising and the rise of the republican movement; the War of Independence and the Civil War; the kind of society that emerged after independence in the Irish Free State; the Troubles in Northern Ireland; and the effects of the Troubles on the Irish community in England.

No previous knowledge of Irish history is necessary and there will be the opportunity for discussion after each session and film.

Find the full schedule of events on our events page

The All for Ireland League: Conflict, Conciliation and The Banshee’s Kiss

Dr. Patrick Murphy is the chairman of Nottingham Irish Centre and also a historian. His book The All for Ireland League: Conflict, Conciliation and The Banshee’s Kiss is the first detailed account of the All for Ireland League which draws on a wide range of primary source material. The launch of the League in 1910 sent shock waves through Irish nationalism and led to widespread rioting and violence in Cork City and County. It represented the first breakaway from John Redmond’s Irish parliamentary party but, more importantly, challenged one of the central weaknesses of nationalism itself: the failure to build an inclusive vision of an independent nation and the belief that it could ignore the wishes of unionists.

The book explores the history of the League and its charismatic founder, William O’Brien, who attempted to build a new type of non-sectarian politics during Ireland’s most turbulent era and argued that a failure to do so would condemn Ireland to unending strife, what he called ‘The Banshee’s Kiss’. This book unearths a forgotten piece of history with an important echo from the past as Ireland faces new dilemmas and challenges.

The book is part of the Reimagining Ireland series and is available from the publisher Peter Lang, or from Amazon, including on Kindle.

“Patrick Murphy has done readers a service by providing a lively and readable account of the All for Ireland League and its charismatic leader William O’Brien.” – Daniel Mulhall, former Irish Ambassador to the UK and USA

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Community Support – If you need advice/support – We are here

If you need, or you know of anyone who needs, advice or support we, at the Nottingham Irish Centre, are here for you.

Please contact our centre on 0734 9516 630 or email beverlye@nottinghamirishcentre.org

You can arrange an appointment for us to visit you. Alternatively, please come to our face-to-face support centre any Wednesday from 10am-4pm where our team will be ready for you.

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