Óstálann an tUachtarán Mícheál D. Ó hUigínn seimineár deireanach Mhachnamh 100
Dáta: Déa 17th Sam, 2022 | 14:48
- Beidh ‘Cuimhne, Stair agus Samhlaíocht’ le fáil ar Sheinnteoir RTÉ agus ar President.ie ar 7pm anocht
- Cuirfidh an seimineár seo críoch le sraith seimineár an Uachtaráin, a reáchtáladh le dhá bhliain anuas, ag machnamh siar ar imeachtaí claochlaitheacha céad bliain ó shin
Beidh Machnamh VI, an séú seimineár as sé i sraith seimineár an Uachtaráin Uí Uigínn a dhéanann machnamh ar imeachtaí ceannródaíocha céad bliain ó shin, le fáil ar Sheinnteoir RTÉ agus ar an suíomh President.ie ar 7pm anocht.
Tagann teideal na sraithe ón bhfocal Gaeilge ‘machnamh’, coincheap ársa sa Ghaeilge is ea é a chuimsíonn marana, smaoineamh agus cuimhneamh.
Bhí an Dr John Bowman mar chathaoirleach ar na seimineáir ar fad, ó cuireadh tús leo i mí na Nollag 2020. Le linn an tseimineáir, cuireadh óráid i láthair agus iarradh ar scoláirí ceannródaíocha freagairt uirthi. Sna sé sheimineár roinn an tUachtarán Ó hUigínn agus 27 scoláirí ceannródaíocha a léargais ar chomhthéacs agus ar imeachtaí na tréimhse cinniúnaí céad bliain ó shin, agus mar aon le machnamh a dhéanamh ar chleachtas an chomórtha é féin.
Tabharfaidh an t-údar agus staraí, an tOllamh Declan Kiberd ó Ollscoil Notre Dame agus Coláiste Ollscoile Baile Átha Cliath, aitheasc ag an seimineár deireanach seo, dar teideal ‘Cuimhne, Stair agus Samhlaíocht’.
I ndiaidh na cainte, freagróidh na cainteoirí seo a leanas: an teoiricí cultúrtha agus léiritheoir scannáin Lelia Doolan; an tOllamh Angela Bourke ón gColáiste Ollscoile Baile Átha Cliath; agus iriseoir agus údar leis an BBC, Fergal Keane.
Beidh eochairaitheasc ón Uachtarán Ó hUigínn, ‘1922 – An Bhliain ba Shuntasaí?’ ag an seimineár freisin.
Foilsíodh ‘Machnamh 100 – Centenary Reflections, Volume 1’, leabhar clúdach crua a chuimsíonn óráidí agus cainteanna ón gcéad trí sheimineár, atá ar fáil i leabharlanna poiblí agus in ollscoileanna timpeall na tíre, chomh maith le via Scoilnet, tairseach oifigiúil na Roinne Oideachais d’oideachasóirí agus do dhaltaí trí líonra 749 iar-bhunscoil.
Tá sé ar fáil mar e-leabhar saor in aisce ar shuíomh gréasáin President.ie freisin. Beidh Imleabhar 2, a mbeidh na trí chaibidil dheireanacha ann, le fáil go luath in 2023.
In a statement, President Higgins said:
“Machnamh VI brings to a close six seminars which I have organised over the past two years in Áras an Uachtaráin to reflect on the seminal events, and their social basis too, that would result in the birth of the Irish Republic.
Across the six seminars, our participants have sought to tackle with authenticity the complexity of the period, to participate in the investigation of motives, teasing out social contexts, including that perhaps insufficiently acknowledged ‘from below’. Our purpose has not been the assertion of definitive conclusions, but rather to leave matters open. Our efforts are aimed at understanding – understanding in relation to the past, which I hope may assist us in addressing our present and future challenges on this our shared island.
The ‘Decade of Commemorations’ and our six Machnamh 100 seminars have sought to focus attention not only on the political and constitutional context of the events of 1912–1923, but also on the wider experiences of war, conflict, the Great Flu, and the horrific political violence associated with land security and land hunger within Irish society, and not only that violence which was being imitated or reciprocated, but new forms of violence, including gendered violence.
This broadening of scholarly perspectives beyond constitutional and military history has greatly enhanced our understanding of how conflict and war is experienced and registered as a cultural, social and emotional phenomenon within Ireland’s recent past.
I hope that viewers will find Machnamh VI, our final seminar, thought-provoking, perhaps even challenging and, above all, a reminder that the work which we have undertaken over these six seminars represents an invitation to history which, when its complexity and fullness is respected, can make such a valuable contribution to the vital task that is ethical commemoration.
As we look to the future, I believe it is one in which we can muster hope for the citizens of this country. The search for, and identification of, a common ground built on a shared humanity is our best hope.
A reflection has been made, now the work is handed over. All are welcome to come forward. The process of ethical recall, with which we have been engaged through these six seminars of Machnamh 100 over the past two years, the reflections we have made, as well as other commemorative events, can aid us all in this, our shared journey together, towards an emancipatory future, one that is marked by inclusivity, diversity, possibility, and a sharing of memory in conditions of peace – in a diverse Republic of which we can all be proud, be always open to revise, make better.”