25.01.2016
Remembering the Past Symposium at St Patrick’s Cathedral Sets Scene for Year of Commemoration
A year of commemorations to mark the centenary of 1916 began in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, with a special symposium exploring remembrance and memory on Saturday (January 23). Participants focused on the question: what role should remembering the past play in our lives today?
Distinguished speakers Nigel Biggar (Professor of Moral Theology at Oxford University), Mary Daly (President of the Royal Irish Academy), Brad Anderson (Mater Dei Institute) and Wolfgang Marx (UCD) guided the audience through the ethics of remembrance, the difference between history and memory, as well as what Scripture teaches about commemoration.
The symposium also included performances of music from students of the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama that showed how music can be used to explore commemoration.
Following a welcome by Dean Victor Stacey, Dr Brad Anderson spoke about ‘Remembering In and Remembering With the Bible. Dr Kieran O’Mahony OSA, Augustinian friar and biblical scholar, provided a response.
Dr Wolfgang Marx spoke on the subject of ‘Music and commemoration since the First World War: remembering the dead, educating the living’ with a response from Dr Kerry Houston of the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama.
The Revd Professor Nigel Biggar spoke of the Ethics of Remembering with a response by Dr Katie Dunne, Adjunct Assistant Professor in Trinity College Dublin.
Professor Mary Daly spoke on the subject of Memory with a response by Dr Eimhin Walsh, Civic Engagement and Outreach Office at St Patrick’s Cathedral.
There are a number of events in the pipeline at the cathedral to remember 1916. On April 24 there will be a service of commemoration for the Easter Rising 1916. In May there will be an event entitled “Cherished Equally: An ecumenical exploration of Irishness’. In June ‘Proclamation: the Saint Patrick’s Cathedral Summer School’ will take place while in July there will be a screening of the film The Battle of the Somme. The annual Remembrance Weekend takes place from November 11 to 13.
Photo caption – Dr Eimhin Walsh, Dr Wolfgang Marx, the Revd Prof Nigel Biggar, Dean Victor Stacey, Dr Kieran O’Mahony OSA, Dr Brad Anderson and Dr Kerry Houston.