IEHN Meetings

Recent IEHN Meetings & Events

15 March, 2012, Trinity College Dublin

The 20th Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Dr. David Stead of University College Dublin, entitled "Agricultural Policy Response to Extreme Weather: Lessons from a Case Study of Ireland in the Summer of 1976", and took place from 5.30pm in the Neill/Hoey Lecture Theatre of the Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin. The Meeting was Chaired by Dr. Mark Hennessy of Trinity College, Dublin. See full details.

24-26 February, 2012, All Hallows College, Dublin

The Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement, in association with the Discovery Programme and Irish Environmental History Network, hosted a three-day thematic conference, entitled: "Climate, environment, settlement and society: changing historic patterns in Ireland". The conference took place in All Hallows College, Drumcondra, Dublin. Prof. Michael O'Connell of the National University of Ireland, Galway, delivered the Keynote Lecture, entitled: "Climate, Environment & Farming in Ireland During the Last Two Millennia: Insights from Palaeoecology". Other speakers were Mike Baillie, Mick Monk, Ingelise Stuijts, Francis Ludlow, Margaret Murphy, Gill Plunkett, Jim Galloway, Tim Soens, David Dickson, David A. Fleming and Kieran Hickey. See the full conference programme and speaker abstracts.

12 January, 2012, Trinity College, Dublin

The Irish Environmental History Network was delighted to host a joint lecture with the Irish Meteorological Society, delivered by Máiread Treanor, Met Éireann Librarian, entitled "Hidden Treasures in Met Éireann's Old Manuscripts". The lecture examined the meteorological significance and historical contexts of early manuscript meteorological recordings held in the Library of Met Eireann, and will be presented for viewing on both the IMS and IEHN websites in due course.

13 December, 2011, Trinity College Dublin

The 19th Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Prof. Mauro Agnoletti of the University of Florence, entitled: "Historic Rural Landscapes in Italy: Cultural Heritage for Economic Development, Social Cohesion and Environmental Conservation", and took place from 5pm in the Neill/Hoey Lecture Theatre of the Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin. The Meeting was Chaired by Prof. Poul Holm of Trinity College, Dublin. See full details.

14 November, 2011, Trinity College, Dublin

The Eighteenth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Dr. John Martin of De Montfort University and the University of Reading. The talk was entitled: "Long Hot Summers Revisited:  The Experiences of the 1975-6 Drought in Britain", and took place on Monday 14 November, from 6.30pm, in the Neill/Hoey Lecture Theatre of the Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin. The Meeting was chaired by Dr. David Stead of University College Dublin. See full details.

26 October, 2011, Trinity College, Dublin

The Seventeenth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Dr. Aoife Daly of the School of Archaeology, University College Dublin. The talk was entitled "Northern Europe's Historic Timber Trade: The Material Evidence", and took place from 5.45pm, Wednesday 26 October, 2011, in the IIIS Seminar Room, Arts Block, Trinity College Dublin. The meeting was chaired by Jessica L. Jones of Trinity College Dublin. See full details.

16 September, 2011, Trinity College, Dublin

The Sixteenth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Dr. Jane Bunting of the University of Hull. The talk was entitled "Evidence for Coppicing in the Pollen Record", and took place from 5pm, Friday 16 September, 2011, in the Neill/Hoey lecture theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Bettina Stefanini of Trinity College Dublin and the IPEAN. See full details.

2-4 September, 2011, Trinity College, Dublin

The Irish Environmental History Network was delighted to host both the Plenary Address and concluding Roundtable discussion of the recent "Literature and Environmental Conservation: Responsibilities" conference, held in Trinity College Dublin. John Elder, Emeritus Professor of English and Environmental Studies at Middlebury College, Vermont, gave the Plenary Address. The concluding Roundtable discussion was entitled: "The Changing Role of Literature in Environmental Protection". The conference was organised by Alison Lacivita and Megan Kuster. See more details.

24 May, 2011, Trinity College, Dublin

The Fifteenth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Prof. Peter Coxon, Dept. of Geography, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin. The talk was entitled "Reconstructing Landscape Change Using a Modern Perspective: A Case Study from Clare Island County Mayo", and took place from 5pm, Tuesday 24 May, 2011, in the Neill/Hoey Lecture Theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Steve McCarron of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. See full details.

16 April, 2011, Trinity College, Dublin

The Irish Quaternary Association (IQUA), in association with the Irish Environmental History Network, held its Annual Spring Meeting on Saturday 16 April, 2011, in Trinity College Dublin. IQUA is a voluntary organisation comprising academics, amateurs, governmental and industrial partners with an interest in Irish landscape change during the most recent period of Earth history (the Quaternary). Its members have a diverse range of interests including agriculture, archaeology, climatology, ecology, engineering, geography, geology and hydrology. The meeting comprised a series of short talks focusing on new and ongoing Quaternary research taking place in Ireland. Prof. Fraser Mitchell, Head of Botany in TCD, delivered the keynote talk, entitled: "After the Storm: Exploring Ecosystem Recovery after Disturbance".

14 April, 2011, Trinity College Dublin

The Fourteenth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Dr. Kieran Hickey of the Department of Geography, National University of Ireland, Galway. The talk was entitled "Wolves in Ireland: A Natural and Cultural History", and took place from 5pm, Thursday 14 April, 2011, in Room 3051, Floor 3, Arts Block, Trinity College Dublin. The meeting was chaired by Prof. David Dickson of Trinity College Dublin. See full details.

25 March, 2011, Trinity College Dublin

The Thirteenth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Dr. Juliana Adelman of Trinity College Dublin. The talk was entitled "Sanitation, Contagion and the Cattle Plague in Dublin, 1865-1870", and took place in the Neill/Hoey Lecture Theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin, from 4pm, March 25, 2011. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Arlene Crampsie of Boston College - Ireland. See full details.

10 February, 2011, Trinity College Dublin

The Twelfth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Dr. Pat Brereton of Dublin City University. The talk was entitled "Ecology, Climate Change and Film", and took place in the Neill/Hoey Lecture Theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin, from 5pm, February 10, 2011. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Charles Travis of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. See full details.

27 January, 2011, Trinity College Dublin

The Eleventh Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Michael Monk of the School of the Human Environment, University College Cork. The talk was entitled "The archaeological evidence for tillage agriculture and environment in Early Medieval Ireland". The meeting was chaired by Dr. Ingelise Stuijts of the Discovery Programme. See full details.

8 December 2010, Trinity College Dublin

The Tenth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Prof. Katie Holmes, Keith Cameron Chair in Australian History at University College Dublin in 2009/2010. The talk was entitled 'Redeeming Landscapes': restoring landscape in Australia (& Ireland)". The meeting was chaired by Prof. William Nolan, UCD. See full details.

17 November 2010, Trinity College Dublin

The Ninth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Tim D. Smith of the U.S. Northeast Fisheries Science Center, entitled "Confessions of a Convert: From Fishery Biology to Environmental History". The meeting was chaired by Prof. Poul Holm, TCD. See full details.

2 November 2010, Trinity College Dublin

The Eighth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Prof. Chris Smout of the University of St. Andrews, entitled "Garrett Hardin, the Tragedy of the Commons and the Firth of Forth". The meeting was chaired by Dr. Mark Hennessy, TCD. See full details.

14 October 2010, Trinity College Dublin

The Seventh Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Prof. Andrew Carpenter and Dr. Lucy Collins, entitled "Irish eco-poetry before 1820". Prof. Carpenter is Emeritus Professor of English, University College Dublin. Dr. Collins is Lecturer in the School of English, Drama & Film, Univeristy College Dublin. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Charles Travis, NUIM. See full details.

7 October 2010. Trinity College Dublin

The Sixth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Jan Streefkerk, Dutch Natural Forest Service, entitled "Twenty-one Years Working on Conservation and  Restoration of Raised Bogs in Ireland". Jan is one of the pioneers of the restoration and conservation of raised bogs in Europe. The meeting was chaired by Frank Ludlow, TCD. See full details .

22 September 2010, Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin.

The Fifth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network featured a talk by Dr. Charles Travis, entitled "The Writer as Geographer - Considering literature, landscape and technology". Dr. Travis is a Lecturer in Geography, NUI Maynooth, and a Trinity Long Room Hub Research Associate. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Mark Hennessy, TCD. See full details.

The meeting was followed by the combined launch of Dr. Travis's new book, Literary Landscapes of Ireland: Geographies of Irish Stories, 1929-1946 (Mellen Press, New York) and the launch of A Digital Literary Atlas of Ireland, 1922-1949, available here on the Trinity Long Room Hub website. The Atlas is the outcome of Dr. Travis's Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Digital Humanities with the Trinity Long Room Hub. Prof. Paddy Duffy, NUIM formally launched both.

17 June 2010, Trinity College Dublin

The Fourth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network was held in Trinity College, Dublin, from 4.30pm on Thursday June 17, and featured a talk by Prof. Rolf Loeber, entitled “Expanding Irish Architectural History", in which Prof. Loeber described some of the issues and emerging work on the forthcoming fourth volume of the Art and Architecture of Ireland series, focusing on Architects and Architecture, 1600-2000, which he is co-editing with Prof. Hugh Campbell, UCD. The series will be published by the Royal Irish Academy and Yale University Press and will be a landmark for Irish architectural history (see details here). The meeting was chaired by Prof. David Dickson, TCD.

13 May 2010, Trinity College Dublin

The Third Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network was held in Trinity College, Dublin, from 4pm on Thursday May 13th, and featured a presentation by Dr. R. Linden Kay of the UK's National Environmental Research Council (NERC), entitled "Infrastructure for Collaborative Environmental Research" and highlighted opportunities for greater collaborative research between Ireland and the UK through NERC. In particular, the possibility exists for an Irish buy-in to NERC services and funding programs, which can be designed in a flexible manner depending upon needs and interests.

NERC is the UK's main agency for funding and managing research, training and knowledge exchange in the environmental sciences, and coordinates some of the world's most exciting research projects, tackling major issues such as climate change and environmental influences on human health. More information about NERC, including a short introductory video, can be found at this link.

A pdf of Dr. Kay's presentation is available here for viewing, and showcases some of NERC's services and their applications, including fascinating imagery of the spread of volcanic ash over Ireland and the UK from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland, earlier in 2010. The meeting was chaired by Frank Ludlow, TCD.

4 March 2010, Trinity College Dublin

The Second Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network was held in Trinity College, Dublin, from 4pm on Thursday March 4th, and featured a talk by Dr. Paul Leahy of University College Cork, entitled "Extreme weather, shifts and trends in the climate of Ireland: past, present and future”, which highlighted the primary results from the EPA-funded project, "Extreme weather, climate and natural disasters in Ireland” (see here and here). The meeting was chaired by Frank Ludlow, TCD.

17 December 2009, Trinity College Dublin

The First Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network was held in Trinity College, Dublin, from 4.30pm on Thursday December 17th, 2009, and featured a talk by Dr. Aidan O'Sullivan, University College Dublin, entitled "Archaeology and Environmental Change". The talk explored some recent and ongoing projects in UCD's School of Archaeology that investigate aspects of social, ideological and environmental change in Ireland, 8000 BC- present. The meeting was chaired by Frank Ludlow, TCD.

19 October 2009, Trinity College Dublin

The Founding Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network was held in Trinity College, Dublin, from 1pm on Monday October 19, 2009. The meeting was attended by academics from a wide variety of disciplines and institutions across Ireland and Northern Ireland, along with colleagues from the University of Stirling and University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The meeting discussed the possibilities and potential for an Irish environmental history network, and featured a talk by Frank Ludlow, entitled "Audit of Environmental History Research in Ireland, with Case Study". The meeting was chaired by Prof. David Dickson, TCD. A short video interview with several of the attendees of the meeting may be found on the IHEN news page.