ACIS Conference 2024

Dr Robert Collins presented a paper titled 'Role of US Special Envoys in Northern Ireland' at the annual American Conference for Irish Studies at Mary Immaculate College. This was made possible by funding from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences towards the cost of the conference.

The American Conference for Irish Studies is the largest Irish American academic organisation and the conference took place over five days, bringing together over three hundred academics and students from around the world. This was an inter-disciplinary conference, bringing scholars together from fields such as history, literature, gender studies, and environmental studies. The conference theme was 'Embracing Change, Navigating Uncertainty: Ireland and New Beginnings'. Robert's paper tackled this issue by discussing the historic development of US involvement in the peace process in Northern Ireland. More importantly, the paper analysed recent developments and the increasing importance of this relationship in uncertain times for both the future of the Northern Irish state and Ireland's relationship with the United States.

The conference was also an excellent networking opportunity and demonstrated the importance of internalisation as numerous scholars were approaching Irish Studies from different viewpoints and allowed for a showcasing of innovative and forward-thinking research. There were also five plenary sessions where scholars and authors discussed their research, writing processes and experiences in both academia and the publishing world.

Overall, it was an engaging and fulfilling conference that helped to strengthen ties for Irish Studies scholars around the world.