EVENT: Understanding the ‘Irish’ Family: New Research and Perspectives

Irish Writers’ Centre
19 Parnell Square N
Dublin 1
Ireland

Friday, 9 January 2015 from 14:00 to 17:00

On eventbrite.


This Public Forum and Panel Discussion will present a range of new research on the changing nature of family life in Ireland over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries. The panel presenters are the authors of essays in a new collection to be launched at this event, entitled ‘The ‘Irish’ Family’ (London: Routledge, 2015) edited by Linda Connolly.  Click ‘attend event’ to view full programme.

The panel contributors bring new, innovative knowledge to the field by providing empirically grounded studies and new data in relation to a number of arenas (including, marriage, divorce, class, gender, motherhood, sexualities, emotional life, migration/emigration, race and ethnicity, children and young people, generations and the impact of technology on family life).

Key questions addressed include: Where does Ireland ‘fit’ in relation to the prevailing trends in 21st century family life apparent in other European societies? What are the distinctive features of ‘the family’ in Ireland? Is the ‘Irish’ family an institution in crisis and decline? Or, is it merely evolving, adapting and transforming into a plurality of more diverse family forms? What myths are perpetuated in relation to Irish families? Is it the case that conventional marriage no longer has a monopoly on family life? And what do we actually mean by ‘the Irish’ family?

Speakers include: 

Locating ‘the Irish Family’: New Trends and Research Questions

Linda Connolly 

Marriage, Fertility and Social Class in 20th Century Ireland

Carmel Hannan 

The Family in Ireland in the New Millennium

Tony Fahey

Family and the Meaning of Life in Contemporary Ireland

Tom Inglis

A Premature Farewell to Gender? Young People ‘Doing Boy/Girl’

Pat O’Connor

Non-sectarian Mothering in Belfast: the Emotional Quality of Change

Lisa Smyth

‘One of the best members of the family’:

Continuity and Change in Young Children’s Relationships with their Grandparents

Ruth Geraghty, Jane Gray and David Ralph

 Children, Cousins and Clans: the Role of Extended Family and Kinship in the Lives of Children in Returning Irish Migrant Families

Caitríona Ní Laoire

 ‘Going home’ To Where the Heart Is: Mixed International Families in the Republic of Ireland

Rebecca Chiyoko King-O’Riain (to be confirmed)

Staying Connected: Irish Lesbian and Gay Narratives of Family

Róisín Ryan-Flood

 Untangling the Wired Family: the impact of technology on 21st century families

Ciarán McCullagh


The ‘Irish’ Family’ volume will be launched after the panel discussions at 5pm. ALL WELCOME.

NOTE: Places for the public forum are limited so advance registration on eventbrite is essential.

Full programme to follow.