50th Anniversary of Beatles’ Irish Concert Marked by Lecture Series

Posted on: 23 September 2013

The 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ only Irish concert will be celebrated in Trinity College Dublin with a series of lectures, each one focusing on one of the Beatles’ 12 studio albums, beginning with the debut LP Please Please Me.

On November 7th 1963 The Beatles played two shows at the Adelphi Cinema in Dublin, their only live appearance in the Republic of Ireland. To mark this event The Beatles in 12 Movements lecture series has been organised by Trinity College’s School of English in conjunction with Trinity Long Room Hub, the Arts and Humanities Research Institute of Trinity College.

All twelve albums will be covered over the course of the twelve weeks of Trinity’s Michaelmas Term from Please Please Me through to Let It Be. Speakers will range from Trinity College academics to notable cultural figures such as singer and Beatles friend Donovan, broadcaster Ryan Tubridy, Ross O’Carroll-Kelly author Paul Howard and assistant director of The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour film Gerry Harrison, who will discuss the soundtrack to that film as well as his memories of working with the band and with John Lennon and Paul McCartney on several of their post-Beatles solo projects.

Poster for the Beatles In 12 Movements Lecture Series

The lectures are free and open to the public. The first speaker is Professor Mike Grenfell, Professor of Education, Trinity College, who will discuss the Beatles’ first album, Please Please Me, on Monday, September 23rd, 2013 at 7pm in the Neill/Hoey Theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub, Fellows’ Square, Trinity College.

Professor Darryl Jones of the School of English, one of the event’s organisers, commented: “November 7th, 2013 is the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ only concert in the Republic of Ireland, an event which Paul McCartney described as like coming home – McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison all had strong Irish roots. Given that their achievements touched all corners of cultural life, what better way to commemorate this than to get together a group of distinguished speakers, from all areas of the arts and academia, to discuss the Beatles and their legacy?”

Professor Jürgen Barkhoff, Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub, added: “The Beatles were among the most powerful agents of cultural change in their time and have influenced the identity of their generation. The Trinity Long Room Hub is delighted to host this reappraisal of their legacy by such a variety of distinguished speakers.”

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For Media Queries Contact:

Fiona Tyrrell, Press Officer for the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Trinity College Dublin at tyrrellf@tcd.ie or Tel: + 353 1 8964337

For General Queries about the lecture series:

The Beatles in 12 Movements lecture series is free and open to the public. For further information contact Tel: +353 (0)1 896 3174