Director's welcome

As we prepare for the start of a new teaching term, I would like to welcome you back to Trinity and give a special welcome to our new colleagues who are joining us.

Over the summer I took over as the Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub, and I want to pay tribute to my predecessor, Professor Eve Patten, for the wonderful job she did over the past five years, working with Professor Ciaran O’Neill and the whole team.  The new Deputy Director, Professor Etain Tannam, and I have exciting plans for the next five years and we look forward to sharing them in the weeks and months ahead.

The 3rd annual Trinity Arts and Humanities Research Festival will take place from Monday 22 September to Friday 26 September, and we will share the programme next week.  Some events to highlight include an introductory welcome from the Provost on the Monday morning, and later in the day a Behind the Headlines discussion on the Irish Presidency, bringing together a multidisciplinary panel from across the Faculty, chaired by Professor David Kenny, and generously supported by the John Pollard Foundation. This will be followed with an evening exploration of the ethics of the True Crime industry.  On Tuesday evening we will have a panel discussion on how environmental humanities can help cool a warming planet, and we will give a special welcome to Professor Karen Wiltshire, Professor of Climate Science here at Trinity.  Wednesday evening has a performance by the Mornington Singers, and Thursday includes a discussion of flags in the context of Northern Ireland and the future of the island.  And then on the Friday evening we will welcome back to Trinity the Government Science Advisor, Professor Aoife McLysaght, for an ‘in conversation’ discussion about her career in science and public engagement, and the connections with the arts and humanities. 

Some other events to look forward to include a major conference looking at Ireland and the American Revolution (Thursday 9 October to Friday 10 October), and the annual Edmund Burke lecture on Wednesday 15 October.  This year the world-renowned historian William Dalrymple will speak about The Anarchy, and this lecture is supported by a generous endowment in honour of Padraic Fallon. 

We also have ambitious plans to explore our relationship with Europe over the next 16 months, as Ireland prepares to take over the Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2026, and I welcome your thoughts and ideas.

I hope to see many of you in the Hub over the year and look forward to championing our important work in the Arts and Humanities.

Best wishes,

Patrick Geoghegan,
Director, Trinity Long Room Hub