The Mitchell Institute co-hosted the latest public discussion in the Conversations on Britishness and Irishness Series on 15 October 2024, at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.  This event featured Dame Louise Richardson in conversation with Mitchell Institute Director, Professor Richard English, where Louise offered perspectives on what national identity means to her and shared insights and prejudices she encountered as an Irish woman abroad.

In a wide ranging discussion, they explored a range of topics including the role of Gaelic games, Irish neutrality, Brexit, Louise’s own academic career and roles in leadership, the upcoming US election and the role of education in problem solving and changing culture.

The discourse concluded with a rallying cry for inclusivity, as Richardson recalled a lecture she used to give matriculating students each year at Oxford.  ‘I wanted to give the message that you are going to hear views you don’t like and you must try to engage with them. I used the Augustinian mantra: Audi alteram partem. Listen to the other side.’

The Conversations on Britishness and Irishness Series was established in 2023, as a way of facilitating open and respectful discussion about cultural and political identities in and relating to Ireland.

The series forms part of the Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South (ARINS) initiative – a partnership between The Royal Irish Academy and the Keough Naughton Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame, to generate authoritative, independent and non-partisan research and analysis on a range of important issues for contemporary Ireland. 

Previous events in the series include:

June 2023 - Lord Peter Weir of Ballyholme in conversation with Mr Declan Kearney MLA, chaired by Dr Mary C. Murphy, Jean Monnet Professor in European Integration, University College Cork.

May 2023 - Doug Beattie MLA, Ulster Unionist Party, Joanna Cherry MP, Scottish National Party and Claire Hanna MP, Social Democratic and Labour Party, in conversation, chaired by Professor Cathy Gormley-Heenan, University Provost, Ulster University.

January 2023 - Dame Arlene Foster in conversation with former Taoiseach and Honorary Professor of Practice at the Mitchell Institute, Bertie Ahern, chaired by William Crawley, Journalist and Broadcaster.  

Read more here or watch the event recording below: