On Friday, September 26th, the Scottish Arts and Humanities Alliance (SAHA), the Royal Irish Academy and the Irish Humanities Alliance (IHA) hosted a half day event on Irish-Scottish cultural diplomacy and relations.
As human-centred fields of research, the Arts and Humanities are fundamental to fostering creativity, firing the imagination, navigating a shared history, and promoting intercultural dialogue. The event offered the opportunity to explore the progress achieved in implementing the recommendations of the first Joint Bilateral Review of the Irish and Scottish Governments. Launched in January 2021, the Joint Bilateral Review has provided the chance to further strengthen the relationship between Ireland and Scotland.
The half-day event aimed to bring together academics, cultural representatives, policymakers and diplomatic representatives with perspectives on culture, diaspora, and cultural diplomacy.
Divided into two parts, the event featured a panel titled ‘Culture, collaboration and diaspora ’ followed by a presentation of exceptional research projects funded by the Ireland-Scotland Bilateral Network Grants titled ‘Scottish–Irish research projects presentations’.
A recording of the event is available below
Programme
14:00 – 14:30 | Introductory remarks
- Professor Murray Pittock, SAHA Co-Chair
- Angus Robertson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture (prerecorded video)
- Professor Sonja Tiernan, IHA Coordinator
- Thomas Byrne TD, Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and at the Department of Defence (prerecorded video)
14:30 – 16:00 | Panel discussion: Culture, collaboration and diaspora
- Jerry O’Donovan, Consul General of Ireland in Edinburgh
- Katy McNeil, Head of Scottish Government Office, Dublin
- Professor Triona McCormack, Chair of the Higher Education & Research Committee at the British Irish Chamber of Commerce and Vice President of Strategy & External Engagement at UCD
- Ciarán Walsh, Associate Director, Culture Ireland
16:00 – 16:30 | Coffee break
16:30 – 17:20 | Scottish–Irish research projects – presentations by awardees of the Ireland-Scotland Bilateral Network Grants
- Dr Aoife Crummy (UCD), Celtic Connections: Seanchas na Fairge / Farraige – Reviving Ancient Sea Routes and Stories
- Dr Helen MacGrath (UCC), Actioning Sustainable Futures within the Artisan Food and Drink Sector
17:20 | Concluding remarks
- Professor Catherine O’Leary, SAHA Co-Chair
- Professor Brendan Dooley, IHA Chair
