4th Annual Una O'Higgins O'Malley Lecture

Changing Times, Fixed By Geography: Ireland and Great Britain

Lord Gavin Barwell will give the keynote address on the topic of Irish British Relations and how we progress through the challenge of Brexit. Lord Barwell is a former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Theresa May during her term 2017-2019

The 4th Annual Una O’Higgins O’Malley Lecture will explore the concept of Irish and British identities across the two islands of Ireland and Great Britain.

The dynamic of the Irish-British relationship is unique and in contrast to Britain’s relationship with other countries, including territories of the former empire. Yet, while the geography of these two islands remains constant, time and history brings constant change.

The arc of electricity that flowed between Dublin and London from the 1990s was the power that drove the peace process. Only when Dublin and London came together did the two respective communities within Northern Ireland begin to feel an energy that would improve the political atmosphere and ultimately lead to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement that drew a line under 30 years of violent upheaval and bloodshed.

Today, the profound and deep swathe cut by Brexit contrasts sharply with the shoulder-to-shoulder relationship shared during the Peace Process. With the EU determining the nature and interest of negotiations around the Single Market and seeking to strike a balance between the two communities in Northern Ireland who continue to live in what we know as contested space, our agency to re-build these fractured relations is reduced.

Meanwhile, with the fixed geography of these two neighbouring islands, comes the reality of a shared space that includes a significant Irish community on the island of Great Britain and a significant British identity on the island of Ireland. Proximity and history now and in the future means that these identities are inextricably intertwined.

In this lecture, our panel will revisit and reimagine the post-Brexit relationship between Ireland and Britain and explore how these two small islands can become a safe and secure place for all identities to exist within, despite, and beyond the challenges of Brexit.

The event will also feature the launch of Glencree's new Strategic Plan and the 5 strategic objectives that will shape our work over the next 5 years. This includes our plan to establish Glencree as a Centre of Excellence in practical peacebuilding and learning exchanges focussed on training and supporting the next generation of peacebuilders.

Register for Event

This event is for invited guests only and advance registration is essential, as places are limited.

Our Thanks

Glencree thanks the Reconciliation Fund of the Department of Foreign Affairs for funding our Annual Una O’Higgins O’Malley Lecture as part of our Southern Voice Programme, and the Embassy of Switzerland in Ireland for supporting the development and launch of the Glencree Strategic Plan 2022 – 2026.

If you have any queries, please contact: rsvp@glencree.ie.

For information on our Keynote Speaker, Panellists and Moderator, please visit: https://glencree.ie/l/4th-annual-lecture/