Ireland’s Edge is returning to Ballina in County Mayo at the end of February this year. The series of talks have been a mainstay in Other Voices in recent years and aim to tackle some of the most pressing concerns that the country faces.
Falling under the title of ‘Awakening Creativity’ this year the discussions will bring together a compelling range of voices from multiple disciplines to discuss Ireland; where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we want to go.
Examining views that have emerged in recent years on culture, community and society, Ireland’s Edge is integral to the ongoing conversation. Activists, entrepreneurs, innovators, thinkers, writers and artists will consider some of the existential questions facing Ireland in this time of mass disruption, innovation and change.
Ideas surrounding how ideas of home and identity are intertwined and how creative economies can thrive in peripheral locations will be touched on as well.
Contributors include environmentalist and Green Party candidate Saoirse McHugh, Professor of Modern Irish history at UCD Diarmaid Ferriter, Owodunni Mustapha an asylum seeker who set up a resident’s committee within a Direct Provision Centre in Ballyhaunis and many more.
The contributors announced so far are:
Professor Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Historian and Broadcaster
Saoirse McHugh, Environmentalist
Dr Patrick Collins, Lecturer in Economic Geography
Farah Elle, Singer Songwriter
Nigel O’Reilly, Master Goldsmith
Dr Rhetta Moran, RAPAR Chair of Trustees (Refugee and Asylum Seeker Participatory Action Research)
Orla Hughes, Commercial Manager, Portwest
Ola Mustapha, Social Inclusion and Supports to Asylum Seekers, Mayo.
Piarás MacEinri, Lecturer in Geography and European Studies, UCC
Tracey Keogh, Founder Grow Remote
Professor Laoise McNamara, IRC Researcher of the Year. NUIG
Caitlín Nic Gabhann, Concertinist and Dancer
The event will take place on February 29 from 10:30 – 16.00 in The Jackie Clarke Museum, Ballina.
Tickets are €10 and can be found here.