It’s a good week for history nerds. This evening the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society has Dr John Cunningham giving a presentation called Voyagers from the Grave. This is the story of the crew of the St Patrick, who got caught in a tremendous storm, carried 150 miles out into the Atlantic, rescued by a Swedish ship and brought to America, only for their families and community to give them up for dead. Cunningham will be looking at both the travails of the crew and also the circumstances of the Claddagh community to which they belonged.
And then on Saturday Dr Mary McAuliffe will be presenting on Margaret Skinnider at an event run by the Irish Labour History Society.
The other major theme this week is the economy.
On Tuesday Professor Cormac Ó Gráda will give this year’s 8th Annual NERI Dónal Nevin Lecture. His focus will be on the achievements and failures of the Irish economy – or economies – since independence and what they meant for ordinary people.
On Wednesday afternoon Social Justice Ireland is launching Measuring Ireland’s Progress – Sustainable Progress 2021.
Kildare Council of Trade Unions in conjunction with ONE Movement is hosting Not Remotely Connected: changing workplaces not conditions on Wednesday evening. The event will offer the opportunity to discuss the impact of the recent phenomenal changes on our lives of the pandemic. It will focus primarily on how our engagement in schools, colleges and workplaces has changed and how we can ensure changes will have a positive impact on the quality of our lives.
The always-interesting Financial Justice Ireland has their monthly book club on Wednesday and will be discussing Jacob Goldstein’s Money.
And for anyone keeping a close eye on the Oireachtas, the SocDem’s have a motion on Wednesday on the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and the Minister for Health will be bringing the Health (Amendment) Bill 2021.
Over in the Seanad they’ll have a motion on an increase in Councillors’ pay on Monday and statements on Covid-19, transport and travel on Friday.
Finally, most of the interesting committee meetings are taking place on Tuesday. Simon Coveney is speaking on Ireland’s participation in the MARSUR project and the United Nations. There’ll be discussions on Ireland reduction of carbon emissions by 50% by 2030. Josepha Madigan will be infront of the disability committee to explain how Special Education policy aligns with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities. And the Financial Services Union and Ulster Bank will be discussing banking matters.
