St Nathy's College, Ballaghaderreen

6.00pm - 8.00pm Registration
8.00pm - 8.30pm Launch

Poet, TD and former Minister for the Arts, Michael D. Higgins will officially launch the 17th Dr. Douglas Hyde Conference

8.30pm - 9.00pm Joe McKenna on Pipes and Antoinette McKenna on Harp and vocals

9.00pm - 10.00pm Michael D. Higgins
Michael D. Higgins brings his own individual style and vast knowledge of world events to the weekend. This is an opportunity to hear Michael D. Higgins the poet. He will read poems from his forthcoming collection.

10.00pm - 11.30pm Reception

Strokestown Park House

10.00am ­ 11.30am Angela Bourke
From his 1982 lecture, The Necessity for De-Anglicising Ireland to his 1906 book, Abhráin Diadha Chúige Connacht / The Religious Songs of Connacht, and beyond, Douglas Hyde engaged with the detail of cultural life in an Ireland that was in danger of losing its memory and, by extension, its identity. As Victorian righteousness gave way to Edwardian consumerism, ‘Irish Irelanders’ reacted on many fronts, supporting Irish industry, countering anti-Irish propaganda, and fostering a new pride in Irish heritage. From the clothes he wore, to the stories and songs he collected and published, and the essays and plays he wrote, Hyde’s influence can still be felt.

11.30am ­ 1.00pm Maire Mac an tSaoi
Scholar and poet Maire Mhac an tSAoi, Ireland's senior poet in the Irish Language, whose memoir "The Same Age As The State” was published last year to great acclaim will read from her work. This is a not to be missed opportunity to hear her read prose in English and poetry in Irish.

1.00pm ­ 2.30pm Lunch

2.30pm ­ 4.00pm Panel Discussion
The various contributors over the weekend take part in a panel discussion chaired by Dr. Brian Farrell on the subject of the artist and the state drawing on each member’s extensive knowledge of the theme.

4.00pm ­ 5.00pm Interview with John Carty and Jaqueline McCarthy
Programme director Mary O’Malley in conversation with TG4 Musician of the Year John Carty and concertina playinyer Jaqueline McCarthy about their experiences growing up in London. Both were born into a vibrant immigrant musical tradition at a time when music was often neglected here in Ireland.

5.00pm ­ 6.30pm Dinner

7.00pm ­ 8.30pm Gearóid Mac Lochlainn & Joe McKenna
Gearóid Mac Lochlainn from Belfast widely regarded as the most exciting and innovative writers in Irish to have emerged for a generation reads his work accompanied by piper Joe McKenna. Mac Lochlann is an electrifying reader as well as being a fresh and innovative poet.

8.45pm
Bus departs from Strokestown Park House for the Conference Concert at ‘Into the West’

9.30pm ­ 12.30am Concert
John Carty and Jacqueline McCarthy

1.00am
Bus leaves ‘Into the West’ stopping at Ballaghaderreen and Strokestown

11.00am ­ 12.30pm Erin Gibbons and Ned Kelly
Archaeologist Erin Gibbons will be joined by Ned Kelly of the National Museum of Ireland for a lecture on some of the most fascinating aspects of Roscommon’s rich archaeological heritage.

12.30pm ­ 1.45pm Lunch

2.00pm ­ 5.00pm Field Trip
Led by Erin Gibbons and Ned Kelly, this field trip will bring the earlier lecture to life by visiting some of the sites discussed that morning ­ always a highlight of the weekend.