Lectures
Past Lectures
13 October 2022
Gerry White – Dividing the Nation – the Negotiation and Ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
20 October 2022
Jim Wilson – Harper s Island Wetlands: its history and its wildlife.
27 October 2022 – no lecture due to Jazz Festival.
3 November 2022
Jim Herlihy – Policing Ireland in 1922.
10 November 2022
Dr. Paddy Sleeman – The Ecology and Evolution of Ireland s Wild Mammals.
17 November 2022
Professor Hannah E. Daly – Mapping a pathway to Ireland’s sustainable energy transformation.
24 November 2022
Michael Lenihan – The Burning of Cork City and Aspects of its Rebuilding.
1 December 2022
John Kearon – ASGARD: Conserving Erskine Childers Historic Yacht.
12 January 2023
Marcello Valente – I want no DNA in my tomatoes: myths and facts on the oldest biomolecule.
19 January 2023
Adam Whitbourn – The History and Development of Blarney Castle Gardens.
26 January 2023
Dr. Michael Waldron–‘In the Margins: Exploring the world of Harry Clarke’.
2 February 2023
Richard Murray – Low environmental cost sensors; when disposable is okay.
9 February 2023
Gerard Crotty – Heraldry and St. Fin Barre s Cathedral.
16 February 2023
Dr. Mary Breen – Examined Lives: Diaries, Journals and Household Accounts in Ireland 1750-1830.
23 February 2023
Ana Claudia Ferriera – If a cow s gut could talk…
2 March 2023
Dr. James Cronin – The cloths of heaven: women artisans and the Honan Chapel, Cork.
28 October 2021
John Ware – ‘Dirty Shirts: the Royal Munster Fusiliers in 1914’.
4 November 2021
An Van Camp – ‘Rembrandt in Print: the Ashmolean’s exhibition at the Crawford Art Gallery’.
11 November 2021
Dr. Alicia St. Leger – ‘Exploring St. Mary’s Collegiate Church, Youghal, Co. Cork’.
18 November 2021
Dr. Melusine Pigeon – ‘E-waste: Our global issue’.
25 November 2021
James O’Neill – ‘Ireland’s Secret Woodland Wader: the Woodcock’.
2 December 2021
Dr. Aidan Quinn – ‘Can we make compostable carbon sensors to reduce food waste?’
27 January 2022
Dr. Eoin Lettice – ‘UCC Arboretum: Learning from a living collection’.
3 February 2022
Sibéal Regan – insights into the fascinating world of whales and dolphins.
10 February 2022
Prof. Pádraig Ó Macháin – ‘Vellum and paper as materials in Gaelic manuscripts, 1468-1650’.
17 February 2022
Sean McKeown – ‘The role of modern zoological institutions in conserving global biodiversity – Fota’s contribution to saving endangered species’.
24 February 2022
Dr. Niamh Shaw – ‘Niamh Shaw – Dream Big: Science with Creativity in the Space Sector’.
3 March 2022
Dr. Jason McElligott – exploring the historic Marsh’s Library, Dublin.
29 October 2020
Dr. Alicia St. Leger – ‘A Visit to Youghal: Past and Present’.
5 November 2020
Dr. Jean O’Dwyer – ‘Bridging the gap between the natural environment and human health’.
12 November 2020
Dr. Michael Waldron – ‘Statio Bene: exploring representations of Cork Harbour in visual art’.
19 November 2020
Dr. Melusine Pigeon – ‘Communicating bodies: introduction to wireless medical devices’.
26 November 2020
Amol Delmade – ‘How Optics is Driving Modern Day Life’.
3 December 2020
Jim Wilson – ‘Robert Forde: Cork Antarctic Explorer’.
28 January 2021
Michael Hayes – ‘Powering the Internet of Things’.
4 February 2021
Prof. Pádraig Ó Macháin – ‘The Book of Lismore’.
11 February 2021
Prof. John Quinn – ‘Bird Research at University College Cork’.
18 February 2021
Shane Lehane – ‘The Forgotten Traditions of Skellicking Day’.
25 February 2021
Dr. Ann Wilson – ‘St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh’.
4 March 2021
Hemalatha Muthuganesan – ‘Miracles of Unseeable Light’.
17 October 2019
Dr. Ger Fitzgibbon – ‘”The nature of an Insurrection”: The strange case of Shakespeare and the Irish Rising.’
24 October 2019
Jim Wilson –’Edward Bransfield- Forgotten Irish Antarctic Explorer’.
31 October 2019
Peter Murray – actors Hurd Hatfield and Angela Lansbury, their lives and careers and their close connections with Cork.
7 November 2019
Jasper Winn – ‘Japanese Walk: a 1,200 kilometre pilgrimage on the Shikoku 88-Temple trail’.
14 November 2019
Diarmuid Ó Drisceoil – ‘Blackrock: probably Cork’s most historic suburb!’
21 November 2019
Godfrey Graham – short film ‘A Jar with Brendan Behan’, starring Niall Tóibín.
28 November 2019
Frances McCarthy – the Apollo Moon missions and the future of planned missions with the Lunar Gateway and on to Mars.
5 December 2019
David Edwards – ‘Pompeii: Vesuvius’ Legacy and Warning’.
16 January 2020
Ed Godsell – ‘The Balkans: the land of blood and honey’.
23 January 2020
Dr. Maria McNamara – ‘Fossils in technicolor: detection and applications of fossil colour in ancient frogs, snakes and dinosaurs’.
30 January 2020
Des MacHale –’The Humour of Cork’.
6 February 2020
David Creedon – ‘The Last Cooper’.
13 February 2020
Dr. Connie Kelleher – ‘Pride, Honour and the Fall of an Empire: The 1628 Wreck of Santa Ana Maria in Castlehaven’.
20 February 2020
Ronnie Herlihy – ‘Two Centuries of Service to Cork – The Imperial Hotel’.
27 February 2020
John Pilkington – ‘Up the Mekong to Tibet’.
5 March 2020
Dr. Markus Eichhorn – ‘Lasers in the Jungle’.
18 October 2018
Dr. Emanuele Pelucchi – ‘What are these mysterious quantum technologies?’
25 October
Michael Smith – ‘Ireland’s Antarctic Explorers’.
1 November
Dr. Ann Wilson – ‘Sacred and Profane: Church Art and Architecture in Cork City’.
8 November
Dr. Michael Nolan – ‘Why is our technologically advanced society afraid of science? Overcoming Sagan’s “Daemon-Haunted World”‘.
15 November
Gerry White – ‘The Story of the Unknown Warrior of Westminster Abbey’.
22 November
Dr. John Hughes – ‘Bird Surveys on Ascension Island’.
29 November
Jim Herlihy – ‘Tracing your Irish Police Ancestors’.
6 December
Professor Des MacHale and Yvonne Cohen – ‘New Light on George Boole in Cork’.
17 January 2019
Dr. Beth Massey – ‘What does it mean to be an Energy Citizen, and what’s in it for me?’
24 January
Pat Gunn – ‘Father O’Flynn and the Cork Shakespearean Company’.
31 January
James Cronin – ‘A design for life: the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement (1893-1925) and the question of education for a New Ireland’.
7 February
Ronnie Herlihy – ‘The Life and Tragic Death of Jerome Collins; Engineer, Meteorologist, Revolutionary, and Polar Explorer’.
14 February
Dr. Aaron Lim – ‘New Ways To Image Deep Water Habitats: An Example From Offshore Ireland’.
21 February
Bob Jackson – ‘A Doctor’s Sword – how a Cork doctor survived war, captivity and the atomic bomb’.
28 February
John Pilkington – ‘To Eritrea and Ethiopia: Retracing a Victorian Expedition’.
7 March
Dr. Jim McAdam – ‘Conor O’Brien – Patriot, Yachtsman and Author’.
12 October 2017
Bernard Wilson – ‘Mary Elmes, The Irish Schindler? Yes – but much, much more!’
19 October
Shane Lehane – ‘Much Ado About Beekeeping: Exploring the Vernacular Craft’.
26 October
Denise Heywood – ‘Legend & Lustre: Jim Thompson, Thai Silk, a Teak House and a Hollywood Film’.
2 November
Godfrey Graham – a film based on music by Cork jazz composer Bobby Lamb.
9 November
Jim Murphy – ‘Richard Hingston – Cork’s Forgotten Hero’.
16 November
Aileen Crean O’Brien & Bill Sheppard – ‘Emerging from the shadow of Tom Crean’.
23 November
Dr. Barra O Donnabhain – ‘The Victorian Convict Prison on Spike Island 1847-1883’.
30 November
Dr. Alicia St. Leger – ‘Huguenot Links with Cork’.
11 January 2018
Dr. Ann Wilson – ‘Life in Edwardian Ireland: a picture-postcard collection’.
18 January
Kari Herbert – ‘The Explorer’s Daughter’.
25 January
Kevin N. Power – ‘The Old Opera House, My Second Home’.
1 February
Frances McCarthy – Space Exploration.
8 February
Daniela Iacopino – ‘Nanotechnology meets art’.
15 February
Dr. John Borgonovo – ‘Cork Women, American Sailors, and the Moral Panic of 1917-18’
22 February
Karl Brady – ‘Diving into the Past: Archaeological Investigations of Ancient Logboats from Lough Corrib’.
1 March
Lecture cancelled due to severe weather.
13 October 2016
Michael Twomey with Linda Kenny and Alan Carney – ‘The Way We Were in 1916: a musical journey through the lives of the ordinary people of one hundred years ago’.
20 October
Dr. Kieran Hickey – ‘The natural and cultural history of wolves in Ireland.’
27 October
Michael Smith – ‘Ernest Shackleton – Ireland’s Greatest Explorer’.
3 November
Michael Lenihan – ‘Aspects of Cork Printing 1750-1900’.
10 November
David Edwards – ‘My Exploding World’.
17 November
David Creedon – ‘Ghosts of the Faithful Departed’.
24 November
Dr. Peter Deller – ‘Kevan Izod Leslie: a Cork Officer in Wellington’s Army’.
1 December
Chris Ramsden – ‘A Day in the Life of the Monard Spade Mills’.
12 January 2017
Jasper Winn – ‘The Water Roads – following Britain’s canals afoot and afloat’.
19 January
Canon George Salter – interesting aspects of the West Limerick area.
26 January
Rachel Abraham – ‘Remembering Sgt. Myles Abraham DCM MM’.
2 February
Declan Hassett – ‘A Man for All Reasons’.
9 February
Dr. Mary Breen, – ‘The many pleasures of reading Molly Keane’s novel Good Behaviour’.
16 February
John Pilkington – ‘Russia and Europe – what next?’
23 February
Prof. Des MacHale – ’Ripples in the Quiet Man’.
2 March
Mark Davies – ‘From Alice to Zuleika: a Literary Tour (with Irish diversion) of ‘river-rounded’ Oxford.’
15 October 2015
Tim O’Brien – ‘The River Lee hydroelectric scheme and St. Ann’s Hydro, Blarney’.
22 October
Godfrey Graham – ‘Seán Ó Faoláin’.
29 October
Canon George Salter – ‘Lough Derg and the historic city of Limerick’.
5 November
David Edwards – ‘Montserrat: Snake Hunting under the Volcano’.
12 November
David Creedon – ‘Behind Open Doors’.
19 November
Dr. Ger Fitzgibbon – ‘Shakespeare: The Man and the Works’.
26 November
Tim Severin – ‘The Sindbad Voyage’.
3 December
Dr. John Barrett – ‘The Internet of Things – a New Industrial Revolution?’
14 January 2016
Gerry White – ‘Order, Counter-order and Disorder – Cork and the 1916 Rising’.
21 January
Dr. Connie Kelleher – ‘From Spanish Armada Wrecks to Pirate Ships: The Work of the State Underwater Archaeology Unit’.
28 January
Shane Lehane – ‘The Irish Folk Year: New Perspectives on Irish Traditional Calendar Custom and Ritual.’
4 February
Professor Des MacHale – ‘Sherlock Holmes, James Moriarty and George Boole’.
11 February
Michael Twomey – ‘When Moby Dick came to Youghal’.
18 February
Keith Holmes – ‘Camera in the Cotswolds’.
25 February
Jim Fitzgibbon – ‘The First Nations and others’.
3 March
Dr. Alicia St. Leger – ‘Adam Buck: A Regency Artist from Cork’.
16 October 2014
Dr. Bozena Cierlik – ‘God’s playground: Poland and East Central Europe’.
23 October
Prof. Rorke Bryan – ‘Antarctica Then and Now: The Legacy of Shackleton’.
30 October
Dr. Steven O’Connor – ‘Irish Officers in the British Forces, 1922-45’.
6 November
Denis MacSweeney – ‘Henry Ford: The Cork Connection’.
13 November
Dr. Clíona O’Carroll – ‘Life, livelihoods and social history in Cork from the 1930s: an introduction to the audio archives of the Cork Folklore Project’.
20 November
Michael Loftus – ‘Engagement between Higher Education and Industry – Trends and Opportunities’.
27 November
Dr. John L. Quinn – ‘Studying Intelligence and Personality in Birds’.
4 December
Louise Harrington – ‘Daniel Levie (1875-1963) : A Scottish Architect in Cork’.
15 January 2015
Jasper Winn – ‘The Art and Rewards of Slow Adventure’.
22 January
Darren Reidy – ‘The world’s first Green Flag university: journeys in creating UCC’s green campus’.
29 January
Helen Dillon – ‘Gardening’.
5 February
Canon George Salter – ‘Clonmacnoise: the bedrock of Christianity …. and other places.’
12 February
Paddy O’Sullivan – ‘The Forgotten Copper mines of West Carbery’.
19 February
John Pilkington – ‘A Balkan Adventure’.
26 February
Declan Hassett – ‘Hidden Heroines’.
5 March
Felicity Aston, – ‘Pole of Cold’.
17 October 2013
Dr. Paddy Sleeman – ‘Cork’s Otters, Badgers and Ireland’s Biodiversity’.
24 October
Dr. Mary Breen – ‘The Pleasures of Reading Jane Austen’.
31 October
Peter Murray – ‘Realism and Genre in nineteenth century Irish Art’.
7 November
James Cronin – ‘Exotic Envoy: a representation of race in a forge of empire’.
14 November
John Hooton – ‘Gathering Light on the Dingle Coast’.
21 November
Captain William Wells – ‘The Vikings’.
28 November
Dr. Connie Kelleher – ‘Piracy in early seventeenth century south-west Munster: Sea Sharkers and Land Pirates’.
5 December
Diarmuid Ó Drisceoil – ‘The Early Years of Beamish and Crawford – Merchant Princes to Brewers’.
16 January 2014
Gerry White – ‘The Victoria Cross and Cork VCs of the Great War’.
23 January
Frances McCarthy – ‘Solar System Astronomy’.
30 January
Canon George Salter – ‘Sunny South East: our Great Heritage’.
6 February
Daithi Fallon – ‘Innovative Trends in Biomedical Devices’.
13 February
David Edwards – ‘New Zealand – land of wonder’.
20 February
Michael Twomey – ‘John B. and me’.
27 February
Keith Holmes – ‘A Taste of Cornwall’.
6 March
Jim Fitzgibbon – ‘Darwin Revealed’.