Tower Museum, Derry

27th September to22nd November 2012

Island VoicesGlórtha na nOileánVoyces Frae Tha Isles

‘Velvet Sea’ by artist Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh.

“Rich velvet sea of salty amniotic sweetness,

deep black, royal blue...“

from ‘Creation’ by Kathryn Daily

Derry City Council

Autumn Lecture SeriesExploring how the languages of English,

Irish and Ulster-Scots shape our sense

of place and cultural identity

This document is available upon request in a number of

formats including large print, Braille, PDF, audiocassette and

minority languages. For further information on alternative

formats please contact: Telephone (028) 71365151

Textphone: (028) 71376646 or Email: equality@derrycity.gov.uk

Dr Frank FergusonBetween the Laggan and the Foyle:

The Ulster-Scots Literary Tradition in North-West Ulster

Thursday 22nd November 2012

From the early eighteenth century onwards,

Derry and Donegal poets are featured

among the most accomplished writers in

the Ulster-Scots literary tradition on the

island of Ireland. In this talk he will

argue that what ties these writers

together is their inspired awareness of

the power of everyday language to

articulate the deepest of human

concerns and emotions.

Dr. Frank Ferguson is a lecturer in the School

of English and History at the University of Ulster. He is the editor of

Ulster-Scots Writing an Anthology, and co-editor and contributor to

Revising Robert Burns and Ulster: Literature, Religion and Politics

c. 1770–1920 and to the forthcoming Ulster-Scots and America

Diaspora Literature, History and Migration, 1750–2000. He is the

project manager of the MAGUS Ulster-Scots Poetry Project which

aims to digitise key texts in the Ulster Scots poetry tradition and to

make them accessible to schools and the public.

Island Voices is funded by Derry City Council’s Good

Relations Programme.

Please book your place by contacting the Tower Museum on (028) 7137 2411 or email museums@derrycity.gov.uk

Derry City Council invites you to Island Voices: a series of thought-provoking talks exploring the languages of

English, Irish and Ulster-Scots within the context of our shared

cultural heritage. This lunchtime talks series runs from

September to November 2012 at the Tower Museum, Derry and

features three lectures by guest-speakers exploring the

languages of English, Irish and Ulster-Scots and how language

conveys a sense of place and belonging.

To book your place contact the Tower Museum:Tel (028) 7137 2411 | Email museums@derrycity.gov.uk

Refreshments will be provided. Admission Free.

Róise Ní BhaoillUlster Gaelic Voices: The Wilhelm Doegen recordings of 1931

Thursday 27th September 2012 – 1.00pm

Doegen’s recordings provide a fascinating insight into

the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the Irish

language from the 1930s. This talk features

remastered recordings of the voices of native

speakers of Irish from that time.

Róise is from Ranafast in the Donegal

Gaeltacht but has spent most of her working

life in Belfast where she is Deputy Director of

the ULTACH Trust. She has edited the

MERCATOR Dossier ‘Irish language in education in

Northern Ireland’ and is Joint-Editor of Gaelic-medium

education provision: Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland

and the Isle of Man. She is also the author of Taisce Focal: Little Stories

for Big People. Her latest publication, Ulster-Gaelic Voices: Bailiúchán

Doegen 1931, presents a unique record of 1930s native Irish speakers

from the lost Gaeltachts of Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Louth

and Tyrone. Lately, she has contributed an article on language and

population change in 19th century Donegal to the forthcoming Historical

Atlas of Donegal.

Eamonn HughesThe Place of Writing

Thursday 25th October 2012 – 1.00pm

Irish writers, particularly those from the North,

are obsessed with place in all its forms.

This talk will look at how writers use

language both to comment on real

places and to construct imaginative

geographies.

Eamonn Hughes is a senior lecturer in

the School of English at Queen's

University, Belfast, where he is Director of

Education. He is also Assistant Director of

the Institute of Irish Studies at the university.

His current interests are in Irish autobiography and concepts of

place in Irish writing. He specialises in Irish Literary and Cultural

Studies, on which he has published widely. His short history of Irish

literature was broadcast by BBC NI in 50 episodes from April to

June 2009. He was also a contributor to the LiteraryBelfast.org

website and iPhone app, both of which are now available.

Tower Museum, Derry

27th September to22nd November 2012

Island VoicesGlórtha na nOileánVoyces Frae Tha Isles