Ulidia 8 – The International Conference for the Ulster Cycle of Tales

Ulidia 8 – The Eighth International Conference for the Ulster Cycle of Tales.

Over a three day period this conference will feature talks on all aspects to do with the Ulster Cycle, including archaeology, toponymy, philology, literature and history.

Dr Daniel Curley and Mr Mike McCarthy have organised Ulidia 8 — The Eighth International Conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales, starting with a plenary on ‘The Archaeology of the Rathcroghan’ by Mr Joseph Fenwick, University of Galway. A very special book launch and public lecture will be delivered by Prof Matthieu Boyd, editor and translator of the new book The Essential Táin Bó Cúailnge and Other Stories from the Ulster Cycle . This will be convened at the Roscommon County Library, in Roscommon Town, on the 24th June, as part of our public engagement.

Two fieldtrips will complement the proceedings, taking place on the afternoons of 23rd and 25th June.
The first fieldtrip will explore the Rathcroghan Archaeological Landscape, and will focus on the confluence between the built remains and their roles in the Ulster Cycle tales that pertain to Roscommon. Our guides for this fieldtrip will be Dr Daniel Curley and Mike McCarthy, of our own Rathcroghan Visitor Centre. The fieldtrip will be on foot across grassland from the outset.
The second fieldtrip will be led by Mr Paul Gosling, entitled: ‘The Topography of the Táin Route in Roscommon’. Within, Paul’s expertise and years of research on the route of Táin Bó Cúailnge, specifically, in this case, in the Roscommon landscape, will be brought to bear, and will serve as the most appropriate conclusion to Ulidia 8.