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Medievalists’ conference in Maynooth

The ninth Irish Conference of Medievalists took place in the usual venue of St Patrick’s College, Maynooth from 22 to 24 June 1995. It was preceded by a day-long review of the present position of the various disciplines—early Irish history, literature, language, archaeology, hagiography, legal and metrical material. It is intended that the proceedings will be published. The recently appointed chair in Harvard, Professor Tomás Ó Casthasaigh, returned from the US to give a review of early Irish literature, pointing out that much of the basic work in translation and editing still remains to be done in the early and medieval period. Contributors concurred with this opinion and emphasised that students and scholars would find relevant, unique and untouched material for many decades to come.
The attendance was up on 1994. Such diverse topics as the state of archaeological digging at Clonmacnoise, Irish methods of seafaring, distinctions between queens’ and kings’ wives in the early medieval period, and a reappraisal of the Viking invasions of Ireland were discussed. The number of young scholars attending and presenting papers of a very high standard enlivened the event.