The Irish Georgian Society presents a series of thematic talks which will explore the material culture of the Irish Georgian house, in both town and country, focusing on interior decoration, furniture and fine art. The talks will examine the manner in which these furnishings and decorations responded to the use of the interior spaces by their inhabitants; reveal the influences on their stylistic evolution; reflect on the province and economics of materials and manufacturing methods; and consider how the presentation of decorative finishes and objects in domestic settings acted as social signifiers of the inhabitants’ taste and status. The talks, which will examine the presentation and decoration of the homes of the elite and ‘middling’ sorts, will provide an overview of objects and collections that were designed and manufactured by native and foreign craftsmen and artisans, both in Ireland and abroad.
Tuesday 11th October: Great Irish Households: understanding their inventories by John Adamson, editor, producer and indexer of Great Irish Households: Inventories from the Long Eighteenth Century.
Tuesday 18th October: Art Collections Displayed in the Irish Domestic Interior during the Long-Eighteenth Century by Dr Aidan O’Boyle, independent scholar
Tuesday 25th October: Silver in Georgian Dublin: Objects in Context by Dr Alison FitzGerald, Associate Professor in the Department of History at Maynooth University.
Tuesday 1st November: Furnishing the Emerald Isle by James Peill co-author, with the late Knight of Glin, of Irish Furniture (Yale University Press, 2007)*Please note the furniture talk will be offered online only.
Tuesday 8th November: Shopping for the Home in Georgian Dublin: retail, taste and morality by Sarah Foster, Lecturer in History of Design at MTU Crawford College of Art & Design.
Tuesday 15th November: ‘From Baroque to Regency: The finishing touch in the upholstered domestic interior in Britain and Ireland’ by Annabel Westman, Director Emeritus, The Attingham Trust, textile historian and consultant.
Tuesday 22nd November: ‘An extremely well-furnished wine cellar’: the aim of every Georgian gentleman! by Dr Patricia McCarthy, independent scholar.
Tuesday 29th November: Irish Historic House Libraries, Rise, Decline and Fall? by Mark Purcell, Deputy Director for Research Collections at Cambridge University Library.
Tuesday 6th December: House and Home in Georgian Ireland by Dr Conor Lucey, Associate Professor of architectural history in the School of Art History & Cultural Policy at UCD.
BOOKING DETAILS
The lectures will take place in the O'Connell Room at the IGS's City Assembly House over nine consecutive Tuesday evening. The talks will commence at 6.30pm. Doors open at 6.15pm. Attendees are asked to be in their seats by 6.25pm. On account of the talks being recorded live we may not be able to admit late comers after the talks commence.
*Those purchasing in-person tickets will also receive a link to the live recording, which can be watched for one week after the lecture date.
The Society is pleased to offer the lectures online through Zoom at both a whole course discounted rate and on an individual lecture basis. Those purchasing virtual tickets will also receive the link to watch the lecture live on the night as well as a link to watch the recording for a further seven days.
Whole course in person City Assembly House bookings - €120
Whole course virtual talks - €90
Individual virtual talks - €12.50
Individual in-person talks - €15
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This lecture series forms an action of the Irish Georgian Society’s Conservation Education Programme, which is supported by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and The Heritage Council. The lecture series has been kindly sponsored by Ecclesiastical Insurance.
General Info