The Summer school was set up to examine Irish history and literature from the eighteenth century onwards in an objective, professional and learned manner. The school has a broad appeal to those with an interest in how the last two centuries of Irish history, have shaped contemporary Ireland, north and south.

The Byrne/Perry Summer School is held on the last weekend of June from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, (this year 2010 from 25th June to 27th June).

Gorey, Co. Wexford is the location of the Byrne Perry Summer School.

Welcoming message:

From the growing interest in genealogy and the recent boom in television programmes on popular history, our hunger to know our ancestors, acknowledge our past and understand its influence on us and our community is becoming almost insatiable. Clearly the Internet has made a huge difference so that now technology is enabling people to find out who their ancestors were as never before.

This fascination with our roots paradoxically is happening at the same time as the break-up of traditional structures and a huge increase in the mobility of large numbers of people are taking place. Engagement is an accurate and professional way with our past is clearly important in understanding who we are and how we got here and in helping us to shape the future.

The Byrne/Perry Summer School is based on the key idea that history is important: or rather the right sort of history is important: the sort that does not belittle or trivialise historical memories. One American writer has said:

‘Our historical sense is often skewed, skewered or plain screwed up by myths,

misconceptions and makeovers’.

Our hope is that this Summer School provides some help to our historical literacy, as we examine again the complex and creative connections between America, France and Ireland over many centuries.

The Summer School has been a rich and marvellous experience over the past 16 years – The camaraderie, the lecturers, the field trips, the laughter and the total originality of it all. We look forward to welcoming you to another such experience on June 25th.

Fr. Walter Forde
Chairman.