In the discussion, Professors Richard Kearney (Boston College), Michael Cronin (School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies, TCD), Eda Sagarra (Professor Emeritus, School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies, TCD), and Aidan O'Malley (University of Rijeka) examined how literature and cultural debate since 1940 have informed Ireland's relationships with Europe and the EU. Â
The panel was chaired by Professor Eve Patten, Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub. "What did the idea of being European mean for the Ireland of the last century?" Eve asked to open the discussion. "How did Ireland's relationships with the European continent and the debates that emerged around them inform our longer-term association with Europe?"
Professor Richard Kearney, Chair of Philosophy at Boston College and one of Ireland's most prominent philosophers and public intellectuals, spoke to these questions by reflecting on his editorship of The Crane Bag (1977-1985), a pioneering journal of Irish culture, literature, philosophy, anthropology and politics, which he founded and published.
In particular, Professor Kearney explored the ancient myth of a fifth province that would unite Ireland, and how The Crane Bag used this myth towards reconsidering Irishness and Ireland's relationship to British and European culture. "Whether it's mythic story or history, our memory of the past always carries an element of potential", he said.
Professor Michael Cronin, 1776 Chair of French at Trinity, spoke about the idea of 'language hospitality', and how in Ireland's pre-austerity period in the 1980s the country's engagement with and celebration of its diaspora was mainly contained to anglophone countries. "There was a lack of linguistic hospitality", he said. "I think to some extent in the post-austerity period we're in a more interesting space in terms of opening up our society to Europe."
Eda Sagarra, Emeritus Professor of German at Trinity College Dublin and the university's first female Registrar, spoke about the contrast as she moved between England and Ireland in the 1970s, amid the Irish bid to join the European communities, which would later become the European Union (EU). Professor Sagarra explained that the prospect of joining the Commission brought a palpable sense of hope and promise to Ireland. "Euphoria for Europe seized the popular imagination", she said.
Finally, Professor Aidan O'Malley, Chair of English Literary Studies at the University of Rijeka in Croatia and co-organiser of the event, spoke about his research background in translation studies, and how this related to the discussion of linguistic hospitality and Ireland's identity within Europe.
"The history of translation shows us that it can elide and obliterate cultural difference", Professor O'Malley said.
50 years after Ireland's accession to what is now the EU, it is evident that cultural engagements with Europe have moulded key aspects of Irish life. To close this discussion, Professor Eve Patten thanked the online audience for their engagement and noted that the themes and topics explored in this seminar will be continued in the next part of the Visions of Europe in Irish Cultural Debate series, which will look at the role of Irish Studies as it is taught and researched in Central and Eastern Europe.