About

The conference, which is being organised by a group of experienced historians and event managers, will focus on the impact of the Irish Civil War in Kerry, with reference to national and international contexts and addressing the three main themes of history, memory and legacy.

Over three days, expert speakers will present the events of 1922-1923 to a wide audience by analysing, debating and embracing the complexities, contradictions and nuances of this extremely turbulent, divisive and traumatic period.

The conference is being held in County Kerry, a county where the Civil War was more protracted than in any other and which was the scene of much of the most violent, bitter, divisive, and traumatic incidents of the 1922-1923 period.

This event will closely complement the aims and objectives of the Decade of Centenaries Programme (Decade Of Centenaries – Decade of Centenaries Ireland) and will facilitate a greater understanding and appreciation of the events of the time by presenting the history of the Civil War in an inclusive and impartial manner. It will examine how the events of the time live on in our collective memory, as well as considering the legacy of the conflict over the course of the past century up to the present day.

Presented by a team of experienced historians and event managers, the Kerry Civil War Conference will set what happened in Kerry and throughout Ireland in both the national and international context.  This will be achieved through the presentation of new research, archive testimonies and the accounts of combatants as well as civilians, so that the Irish Civil War can be considered and understood afresh, a century later.