Over 20 local, national and international academics, historians and experts will gather this weekend to discuss and debate the Civil War in Kerry as part of a three-day conference which marks the centenary of the conflict.

Free State Army soldiers in Listowel in August 1922. Photo: National Library of Ireland

Brigadier General Fionán Lynch with Michael Collins in Tralee in August 1922.

Kerry native Dr Héléne O'Keeffe one of the speakers at the Kerry Civil War Conference this weekend.

John Joe Rice Officer Commanding Kerry No. 2 Brigade IRA and Humphrey Murphy Officer Commanding Kerry No. 1 Brigade.

Conference organisers Dr Mary McAuliffe Owen O'Shea and Bridget McAuliffe.

Professor Diarmaid Ferriter who will be delivering the opening address at the Kerry Civil War Conference tomorrow evening (Thursday).

Dr David McCullagh who will chair the final roundtable debate at the Kerry Civil War Conference.

Kerry native Dr Richard McElligott is one of the speakers at the Kerry Civil War Conference.

Republican prisoners in Tralee Jail in 1922.

Stephen Fuller (right) campaigning in the 1938 General Election.

The ‘History, Memory and Legacy’ Conference will be held at the Siamsa Tíre Theatre from February 23 to 25 and is supported by Kerry County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht Sport and Media through the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012-2023. It is organised and presented by Bridget McAuliffe, Dr Mary McAuliffe and Owen O'Shea.

Opening tomorrow evening (Thursday) with a keynote address from Professor Diarmaid Ferriter of UCD, the conference will hear from a wide array of experts on how and why Kerry came to be synonymous with the worst brutality and bitternesses of the Civil War a century ago. Other keynote speeches will be delivered by Dr Leeann Lane of Dublin City University and Dr Bill Kissane of the London School of Economics.

The conference programme includes a centenary concert including songs, music, poetry and drama from the Civil War period as well as a visual media exhibition drawing on first-hand accounts from the period. There is still ticket availability for the conference lectures and roundtable discussions, as well as the concert on Saturday (February 25), but some events, including a screening of the docudrama ‘Ballyseedy’ are sold out.

LIVE-STREAM

To meet demand and interest in the conference from around Ireland and around the world, all of the conference lectures, keynote addresses and roundtable discussions will be live-streamed on the Kerry Civil War Conference website. Other events will not be available via live streaming.

“As we navigate this challenging phase of commemoration, communities have had to acknowledge many sensitive and often still painful and personal events, particularly during the process of the establishment of the new, independent State in the midst of Civil War," Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, said.

"It is important that these events are examined within their proper local, national, and international contexts, and grounded in the principles of historical accuracy, academic integrity, and archival discovery.

“This multi-disciplinary conference, supported by my Department and Kerry County Council under the Community Strand, is a key event in this year’s Decade of Centenaries Programme. The conference proceedings will leave an important legacy as a significant resource for anyone with an interest in learning more about this period,” she said.

One of the conference organisers, Dr Mary McAuliffe added that “the objective of the conference is to set what occurred in Kerry in wider national and international contexts through the presentation of new research, archival testimonies and the accounts of combatants, as well as civilians, so that, a century later, the Irish Civil War can be considered and understood afresh".

“The level of interest in all of the events is very high and is indicative of a strong desire to engage with and discuss this traumatic period in our collective history,” Dr McAuliffe said.

Papers will be presented by a wide range of Kerry historians including Dr Richard McElligott, Dr Helene O’Keeffe, Dr Dáithí Ó Corráin, Helen O’Carroll, Owen O’Shea and Kieran McNulty. A roundtable discussion on the legacy of the Civil War in Kerry and beyond will be chaired by Dr David McCullagh and will feature an array of experienced historians and authors.

Tickets for all events are available through the Siamsa Tíre Box Office on 066 7123055.

For more information on the programme of events, see www.kerrycivilwarconference.ie.