As South Australia celebrates the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage, Irish women pivotal to this achievement or instrumental in shaping early colonial society will be explored at a conference hosted by Flinders, that is attracting scholars from around the world.
This December marks the 125th anniversary of women in South Australia being awarded the right to vote and stand for parliament, the first in the nation.
Mary Lee, who was central to this achievement, is one of several notable South Australian Irish women whose lives and achievements will be shared at the 24th Irish Studies in Australasia conference over 9 to 12 December this year.
The event, themed Foregrounding Irish Women, is attracting delegates from as far afield as the US, Ireland, South Korea and China, to share the rich contributions of trailblazing Irish women from all over the world.
Conference organisers, including Flinders University’s Dr Dymphna Lonergan, are committed to making the discussion widely available with a $175 registration fee for students or people who are not working, that covers the entire four-day event. In addition, the first day of the event is free of charge for anyone.
Together with this year’s women’s suffrage celebrations, Dr Lonergan says the conference theme was inspired by ten years of research behind the book she co-edited Irish South Australia: new histories and insights published earlier this year (Wakefield Press.)
“Our book launched at the Irish Club to an unprecedented audience, which inspired us to ensure people interested in Irish heritage have the opportunity to attend this conference.”
Dr Lonergan says the free Monday activities “have an Irish language focus and will be of value to people interested in that aspect of Irish culture keen to acquire some basic competence.”
“This will also provide an opportunity for Irish-born people living in Adelaide to meet others and revive the language they learned in school.”
Where: Flinders University Victoria Square
When: 9 to 12 December 2019
RSVP:
People interested in attending the free day on Monday 9 December need to email their RSVP to Dr Lonergan.