More than 40 scholars, writers, and cultural and political leaders will gather from July 17-19 in a small town in the west of Ireland for the 45th MacGill Summer School.
Held in association with the University of Notre Dame, the MacGill Summer School is the island of Ireland’s international forum for thought leaders to discuss the critical issues facing Ireland, Europe and the world.
This year’s theme for the school is “A Fractured World.” Conversations over the course of three days at the Highlands Hotel in Glenties, County Donegal, will focus on how Ireland and Europe can navigate ongoing international conflict. Sessions will include Ireland’s Business Model 2.0, how to make Ireland the best place in the world to grow up, the case for and against a united Ireland, why the liberal agenda is failing, and masculinity, media and power, among other topics.
The lineup of speakers will include:
- Attorney General of Ireland Rossa Fanning
- Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne
- Labour Party Leader Ivana Bacik
- Irish Times Editor Ruadhán Mac Cormaic
Mary Gallagher, the Marilyn Keough Dean of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, will be one of the panelists in a session titled “Caught in the Crossfire: Ireland, Trump, and the China Dilemma.”
Former RTE executive Joe Mulholland established the MacGill Summer School in 1981 to celebrate the life and work of Patrick MacGill, a writer and poet who was born in Glenties. In the decades since its founding, the annual gathering has become one of Ireland’s most important spaces for government officials, academic experts, and representatives of business and labor to come together for dialogue around social, economic and political issues.
The University of Notre Dame has been involved with the MacGill Summer School since 2022 through the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, which is part of the Keough School of Global Affairs.
“The MacGill Summer School has consistently been a source of fresh thinking and innovative policy ideas. These ideas come from the diverse viewpoints of the participants and the school’s spirit of open dialogue,” said Colin Barr, the Thomas Moore and Judy Livingston Director of the Keough-Naughton Institute and a professor of modern Irish history in the Keough School. “The Keough-Naughton Institute is proud to contribute to the MacGill Summer School’s ongoing project of bringing people together for conversations that can lead to a better life for all people on the island of Ireland.”
Visit macgillsummerschool.com to see the full schedule and lineup of speakers.