A three-day conference in February will mark the centenary of the Civil War and will bring together a wide range of local, national and international experts, historians and academics to discuss the conflict and its legacy.

The conference will be held at the Siamsa Tíre Theatre from February 23 to 25. It will form part of the State’s Decade of Centenaries Programme for 2023 and is supported by Kerry County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht Sport and Media.

Involving expert speakers and academics from a broad spectrum of relevant disciplines, the centenary conference will present the events of 1922-1923 to a wide audience, with a particular focus on Kerry where the conflict was extremely visceral, violent and protracted.

The History, Memory and Legacy conference is presented by a team of experienced historians and event organisers including Dr Mary McAuliffe, Bridget McAuliffe and Owen O’Shea.

It will analyse, debate and embrace the complexities, contradictions and nuances of this extremely turbulent, divisive and traumatic period, both in the local context of war in Kerry and in the broader context of Irish Civil War history.

“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,” Dr McAuliffe said.

“As part of the conclusion to the Decade of Centenaries, 2012-2023, the conference will also consider the impact of commemoration on history, memory and politics over the last decade,” she added.

Keynote speakers will include Professor Diarmaid Ferriter of UCD, Professor Bill Kissane of the London School of Economics and Dr Leeann Lane of Dublin City University. 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 a wide range of experienced historians and authors.

The conference, which is supported by Kerry County Council, will be a key event under the Community Strand of the State’s 2023 Decade of Centenaries Programme. It is presented in association with University College Dublin Gender Studies and the Department of Computing, Creative Media and Information Technology at the Munster Technological University, Kerry.

The event will feature a project presented by students at MTU Kerry. 'Is Mise, Le Meas' focuses on creating a set of inspiring visual responses to Civil War narratives, drawing on original documentation and poignant letters sent and received during this tumultuous and formative period in Irish history.

Other ancillary events, including a concert of song, poetry and letters from the period, are also being organised and the details will be announced shortly.

For more information, see www.kerrycivilwarconference.ie