Lecture series November 2017

The annual Liam Swords Foundation Bursary took place at the Centre Culturel Irlandais (CCI), Paris on 20 November 2017. The guest speaker was Billy Shortall the 2017 bursary winner.

Presentation details

I know its value for propaganda an important Irish art exhibition in Paris, 1922.

Liam Swords Foundation Lecture: Billy Shorthall - youtube.com

In January 1922, as the Irish State was transitioning to independence, its government, as part of a programme to have the State's sovereignty recognised internationally, participated in a World Congress for the Irish Race in Paris. The Congress was a political gathering attended by an Irish delegation that included three future Irish presidents and diaspora organisations from thirty countries. It was occasioned by a major, month-long Irish art exhibition of three hundred art works. This was the first time the emerging new State used art to position itself internationally. The lecture by Billy Shortall (History of Art and Architecture, TCD) seeks to recover the narrative of this important exhibition and the cultural aspects of the Congress.

The lecture was delivered again at the RIA in Dublin on 7 February 2018.

In the words of the Rev. Liam Swords

'the aim is to establish a grant for a student of talent from the Irish Higher education sector to pursue his/her studies/research/training for an academic year in Paris and to immerse themselves in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. Candidates will be chosen from the widest possible groups, e.g., musicians, artists, sculptors, writers, scientists, engineers, scholars, craft-workers, theologians, architects, students of haute cuisine or haute couture, cinematographers etc.'