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"Pathways for Heritage": Panel discussion on Monday 14th May
Don't forget our last Monday talk before the Summer break which will be our annual panel discussion.
This year we are looking at our understanding of the Heritage sector at present, what it is doing and what it should be doing, and are looking to a panel of professionals with a varied and yet particular interest in the future of the Heritage sector for their ideas and input based on their own experiences and perspectives.
The Panelists are: Gerry Clabby (Heritage Officer with Fingal Co.Co.), Pat Cooke (UCD and IMA), Kevin Baird (Irish Heritage Trust) and Tara Connaghan (Former Arts Officer, Festival Director, NCFA participant and Musician), John Ducie (An Taisce).

As always the event will take place in the Helen Roe Theatre, 63 Merrion Square and will begin at 7.30 pm.

All are welcome, and we'd love a lively discussion so please spread the word!

Pathfinders pre-publication offer

The Society is pleased to announce the up-coming publication of 'Pathfinders'.

In the words of our President, Charles Doherty "I would like to take a few minutes to speak about our second publication that will be in the hands of our printers soon. This is the long awaited sesquicentenial volume. It is entitled Pathfinders to the past. The antiquarian road to Irish historical writing, 1640–1960. It is edited by our former president, Próinséas Ní Chatháin and our former secretary, Siobhán Fitzpatrick, with Howard Clarke, our honorary editor. It consists of a compilation of essays in celebration of the 150th anniversary of our Society. Distinguished scholars from a variety of academic fields examine the remarkable course of antiquarian enquiry from the 17th to the 20th century. By placing the antiquarians in chronological order by date of birth, one senses an evolving pattern reflecting social conditions and concerns over that period of time. Scholars such as Harris, Hardiman, Petrie, Reeves and Westropp have been the subject of historical comment in the past, but usually in isolation from one another. Here one can see patterns of change and development, perhaps for the first time in this context. Illustrations have been selected from the resources of the RSAI and of the Royal Irish Academy with a view to reinforcing, though images, an original approach to the advent of professional historiography in this country. It will be a very handsome book.

As antiquarians we may feel at times that we are on the fringes of the academic discourse. That may have been the case in the nineteenth century as scientific enquiry became ever more specialised but today the need for interdisciplinary scholarship is evident to most scholars. Societies like ours provide a forum for interdisciplinary approaches and the platform for scholars to present their research results to the general public. There can be no better way of understanding what we are as antiquarians than through the pages of this book. Indeed the book is unique for there is no other collection of its kind in existence and it is a remarkable spotlight upon the contribution of our distinguished Society to scholarship.
We need to sell 300 copies to allow the Society to cover the costs of publication. The book may be ordered in advance at a discount offer at €40. As antiquarians we should all possess a copy of this book."

This publication will be available in shops for €50, but we can offer our members a copy of the publication at the special reduced pre-publication price of €40. To order and pay for a copy please click click here here or contact Niamh

Lottery
Congratulations to the winner of our second RSAI members Lottery, which was held before our March lecture on 29th March, Mr. Brian Dornan. It's never too late to sign up for the lottery, which is a great way of supporting on-going developments within Society House. For further details contact rsai@rsai.ie

Music and the stars: mathematics in medieval Ireland – a model for the present?
RSAI First international conference on the history of science in medieval Ireland
National Library of Ireland, 17–18 July 2012

The event is a 2-day interdisciplinary conference on the history of science in medieval Ireland. Papers, delivered by an international panel of speakers, will elaborate the model of mathematics provided by medieval education, with reference to extant manuscripts of Irish provenance. Discussions of the mathematical content of the great artistic and literary achievements of the period will be included. Papers will also explore the manner in which a truly interdisciplinary approach, inspired by this model, may be applied to education today.

While individual works of great scholarship throw much light on particular aspects of Ireland’s scientific history, a diligent exploration of broader academic discussions on the history of science of the medieval period suggests that Ireland had no role to play – this stands in stark contrast to the evidence provided by Ireland’s extant literary and artistic achievements. Ireland’s scientific history marks a continuity of achievement that stretches over one and a half thousand years and bodes well for our continued contribution to European science. This event acknowledges that history.

Speakers include: Charles Burnett (Warburg Institute, London), Howard Clarke (RIA), Siobhán Fitzpatrick (RIA), David Howlett (Oxford), Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (NUI Galway), Maura Ó Cróinín (NUI Galway), Pádraig P. Ó Néill (Chapel Hill, North Carolina), Marina Smyth (Univ. of Notre Dame), Robert Stevick (Univ. of Washington), Immo Warntjes (Univ. of Greifswald).

The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

The conference is grant-aided by the Heritage Council of Ireland under the Heritage Education, Community and Outreach Grant Scheme 2012.

The conference forms part of the 2012 Dublin City of Science programme of events. For more details on Dublin City of Science click here

For further details and background please click here or contact Niamh

The cost of the conference is €50 per person, €30 concessions.

Tea Party

The tea party before this months Monday talk was a success, it is hoped to hold more in the future.

Lottery
Congratulations to the winner of our first RSAI members Lottery, which was held before our February lecture on 23rd February, Mr. Antóin Daltún. It's still not too late to sign up for the lottery, which is a great way of supporting on-going developments within Society House. For further details contact rsai@rsai.ie

Download details of the Spring outing to Uisneach on March 31st here
and a copy of the application form here.









online library catalogue available on the library page

Forthcoming seminars