Ireland’s role in the American Revolution under spotlight at Trinity conference

Posted on: 06 October 2025

A-two day conference exploring the role of Ireland and its people in the American Revolution, will take place in Trinity Long Room Hub on Thursday, 9 October and Friday, 10 October. 

The event will feature a host of prominent international and national experts and will mark the approach of the 250th anniversary in 2026 of this transformative period in American history.

The Dublin Volunteers on College Green, 4th November 1779 by Francis Wheatley. National Gallery of Ireland. 

The conference is organised by the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (VRTI) in association with the Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity’s Flagship Arts and Humanities Research Institute.

Talks will look at the connections between Ireland and North America during this period, Ireland’s military contribution to the American War of Independence, digital archives and the history of Ireland in the Age of Revolutions, and much more.  

Speakers include Professor Finola O’Kane (UCD);  Professor Eliga Gould (New Hampshire and Oxford); Professor Nicholas Canny (Galway); Professor Thomas Bartlett (Aberdeen); Professor Patrick Griffin (Notre Dame); Professor Martyn Powell (Bristol); and Dr James Stafford (Columbia). 

Co-organiser of the event, Dr Joel Herman, VRTI Research Fellow at Trinity’s School of Histories and Humanities, will deliver a talk titled ‘Reconsidering Legislative Independence: Revolution or Counter-Revolution?’.

Speaking in advance of the event Dr Herman said: “The approaching 250th anniversary of the United States (4 July 2026) has sparked a lively public conversation and debate about how the events of the American Revolution should be commemorated and remembered. Ireland was deeply entangled in these events and also reacted against the British Empire at this time. 

“By bringing leading voices, and a number of exceptional early careers researchers together, the conference will explore Irish connections with the conflict, the archives and records that allow us to trace these connections, and the shared experiences of Irish and American peoples during the Age of Revolutions.”

The conference will take place in the Neill Lecture Theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub (TLRH). More information and registration details are available on TLRH's website.