Thomas Paine: The First Republican and Honorary Member of the United Irishmen (in partnership with Féile an Phobail)

Performance Area | FREE

Thomas Paine was a leading intellectual force and activist in promoting revolution in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He opposed monarchy and organised religion, slavery, and tyranny, in America, France and his native England but is almost forgotten in most of those places.

Join Dr Francis Costello for an insightful talk on Paine’s connection with Ireland. Discover how influential figures like Wolfe Tone, Thomas Russell, and Robert Emmett were inspired by his writings.

Dr Francis Costello

Dr Francis Costello, a former Governor of The Linen Hall, is an esteemed author known for three critically acclaimed books on Irish history. His works include ‘The Irish Revolution and the Aftermath: Years of Revolt 1916-1921,’ ‘Michael Collins: In His Own Words’ (Gill & Macmillan, 1997), and ‘Enduring the Most: The Life and Death of Terence MacSwiney’ (Brandon, 1996). He has also contributed as an author to ‘The Meaning of the Famine’ (Leicester University Press).

Throughout his career, Dr Costello has been an active publisher and contributor to numerous scholarly articles on modern Ireland. He has delivered lectures at esteemed institutions such as Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Ulster, and Columbia University. Dr Costello holds a doctorate in Irish Studies from Boston College, an MA from Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, and degrees from New York and Fordham Universities.