After The Revolution: History Conference At Saint George's
Saint Georges Arts And Heritage Centre, Georges Street, Mitchelstown, Co.cork P6
Sat 04 Oct 2025 (note: this event has already taken place)
10am
€25
The second annual history conference at Saint George’s Arts and Heritage Centre which is being held on Saturday, 30th September from 10am to 5pm. 'After the Revolution- the end of the civil war and its aftermath,' will focus on the consequences and challenges of the Revolutionary Period and how towns, villages and society came out of one of the most tumultuous periods in Irish history.
The conference has brought together six leading historians, writers and academics, to shed new light on one of the most challenging of periods in recent history.
Drawing on the unprecedented success of last year's inaugural conference - Doomed Inheritance, which coincided with the centenary of the looting and burning of Mitchelstown Castle in 1922, this year’s conference will consider the experiences of people and places as the country emerged from the ashes of the vicious civil war. The conference will provide those interested in this period in Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and further afield with an opportunity to engage with and discuss events, themes and theories with the expert panel and other
attendees.
The programme for the conference will also be interspersed with the opening of an associated photographic exhibition by Mayor of County Cork, Cllr. Frank O’Flynn and the launching of a new book - ‘Saint George’s in Time’. Saint George’s acknowledges the support of Cork County Council and the Heritage Council for helping to fund the conference.
Registration for the event will open at 9am. Lectures start at 10am, with the opening of the photographic exhibition. Themes covered by the various speakers will include - the Civil War in Cork, division and reconciliation as the country rebuilds itself, how this re-genesis was organised and engineered, how religious minorities fared in Independent Ireland and what became of RIC members after the war.
The conference organisers have once again gathered a unique group of historians and writers to explore the themes and questions posed by Ireland’s emergence from such a vicious conflict, these include;
DR IDA MILNE (lecturer Carlow IT) and DR IAN d’ALTON (UCD). Lecture title: ‘Heads Down or Tails Up: how Protestants coped in Independent Ireland’: how the Protestant minority fared in newly Independent Ireland.
DR JOHN BORGONOVO and DR ANDY BIELENBERG (both UCC). Lecture titled: ‘The Civil War in Cork,New Perspectives’.
BILL POWER MA: Lecture is titled: ‘More than the Church, State or Bickering Politicians had to offer’. The role of the co-operative movement and other industries in rebuilding the North Cork economy after the 1919-'22 period.
DR BRIAN HUGHES is assistant professor in History at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. His lecture is titled: 'The end of the Royal Irish Constabulary and its aftermath’: what happened to the members of the RIC in Ireland after they were disbanded in 1922.
Books by some of these highly regarded lecturers will be available for sale at the conference.
An advance booking fee of €25 has been set for the early birds booking up to 25th September, when the fee increases to €30. Participants can opt to order lunch in advance for an additional €12. Teas and coffee will be available throughout the day.
To register for the conference, book through eventbrite.ie or by sending the conference form with the fee to- After the Revolution, Saint George’s Arts and Heritage Centre, George Street, Mitchelstown, County Cork, P67 XC61.
Tel 087-8113611 for more information; or email saintgeorgesevents@gmail.com
