Island Voices 2022

Reflections on
the portrayal of
the natural world
in the languages of
Irish and Ulster-Scots
ISLAND VOICES 2022
22 Sept | 26 Oct | 24 Nov 2022
www.derrystrabane.com/islandvoices

ISLAND VOICES 2022
Reflections on
the portrayal of
the natural world
in the languages of
Irish and Ulster-Scots
ISLAND VOICES 2022
The rich heritage of the languages of Irish and Ulster-Scots can help us
see the ways in which we have, over time, lost the words and the wisdom
to understand the features, forces and phenomena of the physical world.
Our indigenous languages give voice to the land, through our placenames,
our names for living things and the vocabulary of our forgotten ways. They
may also offer us opportunities to reconnect with the natural world, to
better understand it, and to rebuild the lost relationship between us and
nature.
Derry City and Strabane District Council presents Island Voices 2022
- a series of lunchtime lectures exploring the unique insight which the
languages of Irish and Ulster-Scots bring to our understanding of the
natural world.
22 Sept | 26 Oct | 24 Nov 2022
Booking essential
Please book your place by contacting
the Tower Museum (028) 7137 2411 or
email tower.reception@derrystrabane.com
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Giving Voice to the Land
www.derrystrabane.com/islandvoices
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ISLAND VOICES 2022
Down
to Earth:
The Irish language
and Ecological Survival
With Professor Michael Cronin,
Trinity College Dublin
// Thursday 22 September 2022, 1pm
// Tower Museum, Derry
Professor
Michael Cronin,
Trinity College
Dublin
One of the greatest challenges facing the island of Ireland in the 21st
century is climate change. In this talk, Professor Michael Cronin will
argue that without the Irish language there is little hope of addressing
the fundamental threat of irreversible environmental damage and
that having access to the accumulated environmental wisdom of two
millennia is vital to creating a sustainable future for all the inhabitants
of the island.
Michael Cronin is 1776 Professor of French and a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin.
Among his published titles are Translating Ireland: Translation, Languages and
Identity (1996); Irish in the New Century/An Ghaeilge san Aois Nua (2005); Irish and
Ecology: An Ghaeilge agus an Éiceolaíocht (2019) and Eco-Travel: Journeying in the
Age of the Anthropocene (2022). He is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy and a
former Irish Language Literature Advisor to the Arts Council of Ireland.
Lunch provided from 12:30pm
before each talk
// Admission Free
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Giving Voice to the Land
www.derrystrabane.com/islandvoices
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ISLAND VOICES 2022
Listen to the
Landspeak:
The Lost Wisdom of the Land
With Manchán Magan
// Wednesday 26 October 2022, 1pm
// Main Hall, Guildhall, Derry
Manchán
Magan
The richness of a language closely tied to the natural landscape
offered our ancestors a more magical way of seeing the world.
Before we cast old words aside, let us consider the sublime beauty
and profound oddness of the ancient tongue that has been spoken
on this island for over 2,500 years. Manchán Magan, author of Thirty-
Two Words for Field and Tree Dogs, Banshee Fingers and Other Irish
Words for Nature explores the hidden insights that the Irish language
offers us into the landscape, heritage and psyche of Ireland, as well
as what we can learn about our relationship to the Otherworld.
Manchán Magan is a writer and documentary-maker. He has written books on his
travels in Africa, India and South America and two novels. He writes regularly for The
Irish Times, presents The Almanac of Ireland podcast for RTÉ Radio 1 and reports
on travel for various radio programmes. He has presented dozens of documentaries
on issues of world culture for TG4, RTÉ and the Travel Channel. His book Thirty-Two
Words for Field explores the insights the Irish language offers into the landscape,
psyche and heritage of Ireland. The writer is fascinated by words, particularly Irish
words, with all of their complex meanings and associations and their connections to
the natural world and his new illustrated book, Tree Dogs, Banshee Fingers and Other
Irish Words for Nature (Oct 2021) presents delightful translations and explanations
of animal, bird, fish, insect and nature words - www.manchan.com
Lunch provided from 12:30pm
before each talk
// Admission Free
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Giving Voice to the Land
www.derrystrabane.com/islandvoices
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ISLAND VOICES 2022
Dr. David Gray,
Högskolan Dalarna,
Sweden
Ulster-Scots
Literature and
the Natural
World
With Dr. David Gray, Högskolan Dalarna, Sweden
// Thursday 24 November 2022, 1pm
// Tower Museum, Derry
In eighteenth-century Ireland, a literary mode emerged that we know
today as the Ulster-Scots literary tradition. Inspired chiefly by the
revival of Scots literature in the early part of the century, following
the Scottish poet Allan Ramsay, this renaissance was adopted and
adapted in Ireland, particularly in the North, to create a unique form
of Irish cultural expression. While there are fascinating cultural,
religious, and political features of this tradition, a lesser-known
aspect is the attitudes to- and representations of- the natural world.
With a focus on verse literature, this talk will discuss a selection of
poems and poets from the Ulster-Scots literary tradition, primarily
from the eighteenth and nineteenth century, to highlight their diverse
engagement with the natural world. We will see how these writers
drew influence from a considerable range of sources, which provided
ways of seeing the natural world. In this sense, elements of classical
literature, agricultural practice, natural history, Biblical stories,
Romantic ideas can all be observed along with distinct influences
from Scottish, Irish and English literature. At the same time, this talk
will draw attention to the authentic flora, fauna, and seasons, typically
in Ulster, which make up the unique natural landscapes that were in
evidently foundational for these writers.
David Gray is a senior lecturer in English at the School of Language, Literatures and
Learning in Dalarna University, Sweden. He gained his PhD in English Literature from
Ulster University in 2014. His academic publications include studies in the areas of
eighteenth and nineteenth century British and Irish literature, representations of the
Nordic countries in twentieth-century life/travel writing, and climate-change fiction.
David has also worked for several years as editor of the e-journal Landscapes: the
Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language.
Lunch provided from 12:30pm
before each talk
// Admission Free
8
Giving Voice to the Land
www.derrystrabane.com/islandvoices
9

ISLAND VOICES 2022
Reflections on
the portrayal of
the natural world
in the languages of
Irish and Ulster-Scots
Island Voices is delivered by Derry City and Strabane District
Council’s Language Services in partnership with the Good Relations
team with funding from TBUC.
Please be aware that this programme is subject to change.
Regular updates available at: www.derrystrabane.com/islandvoices
Booking essential
Please book your place by contacting
the Tower Museum (028) 7137 2411 or
email tower.reception@derrystrabane.com
// Lunch provided from 12:30pm before each talk
// Admission Free
10 Giving Voice to the Land
www.derrystrabane.com/islandvoices
11

Reflections on
the portrayal of
the natural world
in the languages of
Irish and Ulster-Scots
This information is available upon request in a number of
formats including large print, Braille, PDF, audio formats
(CD, MP3, DAISY) and minority languages.
For further information on alternative formats please contact
T: 028 71 253253 or equality@derrystrabane.com
// Further information on Irish and Ulster-Scots available from:
www.derrystrabane.com/gaeilge
www.derrystrabane.com/ulster-scots