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The 49th Roscrea conference at Mt St Joseph Abbey on the weekend after Halloween (November 4th – 6th 2011) is almost full, with participants coming from around the world to enjoy the event.
There are some places still remaining for the lectures but booking is essential for this significant occasion. The theme of the autumn conference this year is entitled “Art & Devotion In Medieval Ireland”.
Once again the conference, which is run by Roscrea People in association with Roscrea Heritage Society, will take place at Mount St Joseph Cistercian Abbey, Roscrea. As always the conference organiser is popular local man, George Cunningham, Dept. of History, College Of Humanities, University of Limerick and Parkmore, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary.
The conference will commence on Friday the 4th of November with a reception by Roscrea Heritage Society at 6.45pm. Dom Richard Purcell, OCSO, Abbot of Mt St Joseph will give the official welcome and Professor Salvador Ryan, Professor of
Ecclesiatical History, St Patrick’s College, Maynooth will give the first talk at this year’s conference entitled “Seeing the Sacred: the religious image and the late
medieval Irish devotional World”. This will be followed by Dr Colmán Ó Clabaigh, OSB, Glenstal Abbey who will provoke plenty of discussion after his talk which is entitled The Cloths of Heaven: Eucharistic Vestments in Late Medieval Ireland
Dr Bernadette Cunningham, Deputy Librarian, RIA, will commence day two of the conference with a talk at 9.30am entitled “Visualising Christianity in sixteenth-century Ireland: the Seanchas Búrcach manuscript”. Professor Raymond Gillespie, NUI Maynooth will follow at 9.55am with “Reliquaries in Saints’ Lives” before Dr Dagmar Ó Riain-Raedel, UCC completes the first part of the morning by discussing “The Miracle of Lismore” Dr Rachel Moss, RIA and TCD gets things going again at approximately 11.30am with Image and Idol: Devotional Statues in Medieval Ireland and the professor will be followed by Dr Malgorzata Krasnodebska-D’Aughton, UCC who will talk about “Easter and the Eucharist: A study in Franciscan iconography”. Professor Salvador Ryan will deliver his second talk of the conference shortly before lunch entitled “Making the Arma Christi speak: text and image in late medieval Ireland”
At 2.30pm attendees will be asked to choose from one of three field trips. The options include (a) view the relics, stained glass and library of Mount St Joseph Abbey (b) Roscrea Heritage (c) Monaincha.
At 5.55pm the Conference will witness Pádraig Ó Riain host the Midland Launch of his acclaimed book “Dictionary of Irish Saints” (Four Courts Press). After dinner at 8pm the traditional “Wish I Had Been Present” will take place in which lecturers at the conference will share a wish or a comment with delegates. George Cunningham will bring the curtain down on a very busy second day with the “Saturday Colophon”
Sunday the 6th of November, the concluding day of the conference will commence with a talk about the “Story of Holycross Abbey” which will be delivered by Dagmar Ó Riain-Raedel. Malgorzata D’Aughton will follow this with a talk entitled “Relics and pilgrims: pilgrimage as a cultural and religious experience”. After a discussion concelebrated high mass will take place at 10:30am and will be followed at 11.30am with a Coffee break. Afterwards Bernadette Cunningham will speak about “European religious imagery in Anthony Gearnon’s Parrthas an Anma (Louvain, 1645)” and this will be followed by Rachel Moss who will talk about “Purgatory and Prayer”: “Some Devotional Imagery on Irish Tombs”. Colmán Ó Clabaigh will give an interesting take on “late Medieval Ireland” and Raymond Gillsepie will capture the imaginations of all those in attendance with the final lecture of the conference, simply entitled “What If?” The final word on this year’s conference will be left to organiser George Cunningham who will sum up the three day event shortly before lunch which is scheduled for 1:55pm.
The conference fee is just €60.00 and includes receptions, all lectures, coffee/tea). Full time students and unemployed 30. A concession by MSJ of a reduction of a third off the price of meals is also available to full time students.
Full board at Mount St. Joseph main guesthouse €180 per person sharing (includes conference fee as above with accommodation on Friday and Saturday nights; supper on Friday evening; breakfast, snack lunch and dinner with wine on Saturday; breakfast and full lunch with wine on Sunday); single supplement €10.00 extra per night. Modern en suite accommodation is now available at the restored Clairvaux House. Some places for fulltime students are available at Clairvaux for an inclusive rate (full board and fee) of €95 per student sharing.
All bookings to, and additional information from Dom Kevin Daly OCSO, Guestmaster, Mt St Joseph 0505 - 21771, Fax: 22198 or email guestmaster@msjroscrea.ie. If you would like further information about the 49th Conference you can contact George on georgecunningham@eircom.net
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