Farhad O’Neill is launching his exhibition ‘A Life in Low Relief’ with a talk that will highlight different aspects of his art. For over 30 years, Farhad’s work travels across and beyond culture and time. From the concept of memory as part of rhetoric in Jesuit efforts in China in the late 1500s and early 1600s translated visually into Irish and Christian context, impressions from diverse musical performances, sexual and gender identity, Catholic devotional practices, abstract expressionism based upon nature, eastern Zoroastrian influences.
Join us for an illustrated talk with Hugh Odling-Smee that will look at the journey of Brian Moore’s 1955 novel, ‘The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne’. From the stellar success of the novel to the screen version’s disappointing release 34 years later, this story of artistic development stars Brian Friel, Katherine Hepburn, John Huston, Cannon Films and of course Brian Moore himself.
We all experience the death of someone close to us at different times in our lives and have to find our way through the pain of grief. We question whether we will ever cope with the burden of our loss. Feelings of sadness and tiredness along with feelings of anger, distress and bitterness may arise as we travel through our passage of mourning.
Join us for a conversation with Hilary Scott, author of ‘One Day at A Time’. Hilary is Chartered Psychologist, an Accredited Counsellor, and a widow. Her personal and professional experiences of loss have contributed to the knowledge base for her book.
The global climate crisis has serious implications for the natural world, presenting a wide range of risks and opportunities for our land, infrastructure, and economy. The NI Science Festival Climate Tour will bring together a wide range of expertise, across a series of events that will support communities in understanding climate threats and strengthening efforts to address climate change at all levels of society.
This lecture on Wolfe Tone, Thomas Russell, and Belfast with Professor Marianne Elliott is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend and former colleague John Killen. John who served as Librarian at The Linen Hall Library for 37 years, passed last year. Join us at The Linen Hall to celebrate together the life and legacy of John Killen.
Paul Muldoon is regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest contemporary poets, known for the sophisticated handling of poetic form and technique. Born in Portadown in the 1950s, he served as the Oxford Professor of Poetry until 2004, when he relocated to New York where he lives. Muldoon holds a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and a T. S. Eliot Prize among many recognitions of his work. In November 2022, he was appointed as the Ireland Professor of Poetry. Join the author of 14 collections of verse, for a reading from his work this February at The Linen Hall.
On this year’s International Women’s Day, join us for a conversation with Dr Federica Ferrieri, project coordinator of the ‘Images of Incoming’. Federica will present a selection of photographs that capture the sense of exclusion and belonging. The project explores the lives of 60 women from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures, from Africa to China, India, Pakistan, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Kosovo, Kurdistan, East Timor, and Mauritius, you’ll be challenged by their images and comments – powerful, moving, inspiring, funny.
Following the recent publication of her new book about Youghal native Anna Haslam (1829 -1922), Carmel Ui Cheallaigh will discuss Haslam’s life during a time of incredible change and hardship in Ireland. Anna is a significant historical figure due to her lifelong connection with the suffrage movement and as a Quaker the call of Christian duty always motivated her.
Beatrice Grimshaw (1870-1953), the indomitable Irish woman sailed away from Ireland to explore the South Pacific Islands, finally living for 27 years in Papua New Guinea. Here, she explored the country and the natives and wrote books for a living. Bouts of malaria eventually sent her to live in Bathurst Australia, where she died. Her biographer, Diana Gleadhill, recently shadowed her as far as she possibly could. Join Diana at The Linen Hall as she recounts the remarkable tales from her journey across the world shadowing Beatrice Grimshaw.
Literature and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland
Marilynn Richtarik’s book Getting to Good Friday: Literature and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland describes literary reactions and contributions to the peace process during the fifteen years preceding the Agreement and in the immediate post-conflict era, demonstrating the extent to which authors sought both to comment on and to influence contemporary political developments.
One in a thousand people are profoundly deaf from birth or early childhood. In the past, they were called ‘deaf and dumb’, a term that is now unacceptable to the modern deaf community which has British and Irish Sign Languages as its core identity. Until recently, educational policies advised hearing families not to sign, and oral methods of teaching were enforced at the residential schools in Belfast and Dublin.
Dr Jonathan Vischer is the author of the recently published historical novel, ‘The Wonderful Discovery of Elizabeth Sawyer’. Jonathan spent five years mapping the life of Elizabeth Sawyer (1572-1621), who was hanged as a witch in 1621 and is commemorated in the Jacobean tragicomedy, ‘The Witch of Edmonton’. Jonathan will read extracts from his novel and share his findings about witchcraft in post-Reformation England. He will also discuss what Sawyer’s life and death reveal about the changing status of women in Tudor and Jacobean times.
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
The Linen Hall (Belfast Library And Society For Promoting Knowledge) is registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC 104 564.
