Island Voices 2025 Programme

DERRY CITY AND STRABANE DISTRICT COUNCIL PRESENTS
ISLAND VOICES 2025
25
SEPT
23
OCT
27
NOV
C.S. Lewis – an Irish and Ulster-Scots Writer
A series of lunchtime lectures exploring the life and work of C.S. Lewis
to mark the 75th anniversary of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
www.derrystrabane.com/islandvoices

DERRY CITY AND STRABANE DISTRICT COUNCIL
PRESENTS
ISLAND VOICES 2025
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of ‘The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, C.S. Lewis’s classic story
from The Chronicles of Narnia collection, which blends fairytale
and fantasy to create an adventure which has captured the
imaginations of children and adults for decades.
To mark the anniversary, Derry City and Strabane District Council
presents Island Voices 2025 - a series of lunchtime lectures
exploring the life and work of C.S. Lewis, and in particular, how his
identity was shaped by the shared cultural influences of an Irish
and Ulster-Scots sensibility.
25
SEPT
23
OCT
27
NOV
Featuring lectures by Dr Sharon Jones, Antain Mac Lochlainn and
Dr Frank Ferguson the series will explore Lewis’s identity as an
Irishman and Ulster-Scot, and will look at how his work continues
to resonate with audiences across the world having been
translated into multiple languages, including Irish.
C.S. Lewis – an Irish and Ulster-Scots Writer
A series of lunchtime lectures exploring the life and work of C.S. Lewis
to mark the 75th anniversary of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
/ Booking is essential:
Please book your place by contacting
T: (028) 71 376 579 or email: languages@derrystrabane.com
/ Admission Free
/ Light refreshments from 12:30pm before each talk.
Join us www.derrystrabane.com/islandvoices
3

Listening to Lewis’s Irish
Voice: Narnia Re-visited
With Dr Sharon Jones
Thursday 25 September 2025, 1pm
Green Room, Guildhall
25
SEPT
The 75th anniversary of The Chronicles of
Narnia celebrates a remarkable series of books
that continues to delight children of all ages,
all across the world. Translated into multiple
languages, adapted for television and the
big screen, and now the subject of a much
anticipated Netflix release, these enchanting
stories have inspired generations of artists,
writers and thinkers. C.S. Lewis, the imaginative
giant who created Narnia, was an Ulsterman and
considered himself Irish, through and through. In
this lecture, Dr Jones argues that Lewis’s academic
vocation as a medievalist afforded rich insights
into Ireland’s story, and that his Ulster roots and
Irish identity, at times overlooked, both inspired
and informed his writing.
Dr Sharon Jones
About the speaker:
Sharon Jones grew up in Coleraine and lives and
writes in County Antrim. She studied Modern and
Medieval Languages at Cambridge University and
completed a doctorate in literature and theology at
Ulster University. Sharon’s writing has featured in
The Irish Times, Irish Studies Review, and Journal of
Inklings Studies. Her poetry has been published in a
variety of journals, and has been commissioned for
live performances and BBC Radio 4. Sharon teaches
at Stranmillis University College and is a member of
New Irish Arts. In 2023 she was awarded an inaugural
Fellowship of the Inklings Project, University of Notre
Dame, for curriculum development on the life and
work of C.S. Lewis.
/ Admission Free
/ Light refreshments from 12:30pm before each talk.
4
5

The Road
to Nairnia
With Antain Mac Lochlainn
Thursday 23 October 2025, 1pm
Green Room, Guildhall
23
OCT
The talk will place C.S. Lewis in the context of
Irish literature – ‘the Irish school’ with which
he wanted to be identified. We will explore the
challenges of translating the Narnia novels
into Irish, particularly those relating to the
imaginary world that Lewis created. As we shall
see, even translating the book titles is not a
straightforward matter. No knowledge of Irish is
necessary; the discussion will be of interest to
all who enjoy storytelling, wordplay and
solving puzzles.
Antain
Mac Lochlainn
About the speaker:
Antain Mac Lochlainn is an Irish language writer and
translator, born and raised in Coleraine but now
living in Dublin. He has translated two novels in the
Narnia series: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
and The Horse and his Boy (An Leon, an Bandraoi
agus an Prios Éadaigh and An Capall agus a Ghiolla,
an Gúm (2014 & 2019). He is currently working on
a translation of Prince Caspian, scheduled for
publication in 2026. His most recent books include a
novel for teenagers, Éanna Corr (Leabhar Breac 2024),
and an Irish translation of the French language novel
Petit Pays by Gaël Faye, published by Barzaz under
the title Tír Bheag (2024).
/ Admission Free
/ Light refreshments from 12:30pm before each talk.
6
7

Onwards to Narnia
and Hame by the
Sandy Loanen
With Frank Ferguson
Thursday 27 November 2025, 1pm
Whittaker Suite, Guildhall
27
NOV
In this talk Dr Ferguson will chart the Ulster-
Scots influences that helped shape C.S.
Lewis’s life. He will trace the impact of family
connections, place, language, and literature and
demonstrate how these all played out in Lewis’s
creative thinking. From his childhood home of
Little Lea set amid the burns of East Belfast to
the august halls of Oxford and Cambridge, this
talk will illustrate the strong threads of Ulster-
Scots culture, language and association that
formed Lewis’s character. It will also argue that
Lewis’s Ulster-Scots side appears in his work and
life when least expected. Rather than being a
buried treasure of his past life, Dr Ferguson will
suggest it formed a vibrant and living element of
his daily experience.
Frank Ferguson
About the speaker:
Frank Ferguson is the Research Director for English
Language and Literature at Ulster University. An
experienced researcher in literary studies, he has
written and edited a number of publications on Irish
and Northern Irish literature including, ‘Ulster-Scots
Writing, an Anthology’, (Four Courts, 2008), ‘Revising
Robert Burns and Ulster: literature, religion and
politics, c.1770-1920’ (Four Courts 2009) and John
Hewitt, ‘A North Light’ (Four Courts, 2013). He has
managed a number of major literary and educational
projects. He is the Chair of the John Hewitt Society, a
Governor of the Linen Hall Library, and Chair of the
Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund.
/ Admission Free
/ Light refreshments from 12:30pm before each talk.
8
9

ISLAND
VOICES
2025
25
SEPT
/ Booking is essential:
23
OCT
Please book your place by contacting
T: (028) 71 376 579 or email
languages@derrystrabane.com
27
NOV
/ Admission Free
/ Light refreshments from 12:30pm before each talk.
Join us
www.derrystrabane.com/islandvoices
Further information
on Irish and Ulster-Scots available from
www.derrystrabane.com/gaeilge
www.derrystrabane.com/ulsterscots
10
11

Derry City and Strabane
District Council presents
ISLAND
VOICES
2025
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