Catholic Historical Society of Ireland Annual Conference 2024

The Catholic Action movement had a profound impact on modern Ireland. Consisting of numerous lay organisations and initiatives, including the Legion of Mary, Catholic Truth Society, and Muintir na Tíre, it penetrated many aspects of Irish social, economic and cultural life, with the approval of the Church and its hierarchy. This conference will explore multiple aspects of Catholic action in Ireland in the twentieth century, the historic roots of Catholic social action, and Catholic action in other parts of the world, as well as presenting avenues for future archival research in the area.

Please note the Registration Fee payable on the day: €30 waged and €25 unwaged (including light lunch). We look forward to welcoming you to the conference. Enquiries: catholichistsocirl@gmail.com

Catholic Historical Society of Ireland annual conference, Saturday 21st Sep. 2024, DCU

Catholic Social Action

9.15 Registration

9.45 Welcome and Introduction

10.00-11.30 Session 1 Catholic action in twentieth-century Ireland

Dr Barry Sheppard (Independent): 'Spreading the light among the Irish exiles’, Muintir na Tíre, the 1934 Eucharistic Congress and the Irish ‘Spiritual Empire’

Dr Patrick Doyle (University of Limerick): Catholicism, Social Reconstruction, and the Irish Catholic Diaspora, 1890-1930

11.30-12.15 Session 2 Archives

Noelle Dowling (Dublin Diocesan Archives): Let there be few words and many deeds – evidence of Catholic Action held by the Dublin Diocesan Archives.

12.15-1.00 Lunch break

1.00-2.15 Keynote

Dr Lisa Godson (National College of Art and Design): Catholics in Action: the Architecture of Ritual in the Irish Free State

2.15-2.45 Coffee break

2.45-4.15 Session 3 Alternative perspectives on Catholic Action

Dr Aoife O’Leary McNeice (University of Galway): The relationships behind global networks of Catholic giving during the Great Irish Famine

Dr Maria Power (University of Oxford): Lay Catholic Societies in 20th Century Britain

4.15 Conference close