Ghosts in Britain and Ireland 1500-1950 History Conference
About
Mary Immaculate College, in association with Ulster University, The University of Melbourne, Irish Historical Studies, The Hunt Museum and Limerick Museum, are delighted to welcome you to the Ghosts in Britain and Ireland 1500-1950 History Conference, which will take place on Thursday 26 & Friday 27 June, 2025.
If you met a ghost, how would you know they were a ghost? Would they be solid or transparent, talkative or quiet? What would they wear? Where would you expect to find them? What might you assume they wanted? Would you need an intermediary ‒ a cleric, a medium, a ghosthunter ‒ to find out?
The answers given by a person 100 or 400 years ago would likely have been quite different to yours. The ways in which the dead have been perceived by the living have changed significantly over time. This conference will explore accounts and representations of the returning dead in the Irish and British Isles in historical context. Contributors will shed light on the beliefs different communities held about ghosts, the explanations given for their return, and how reports of ghost sightings can illuminate specific historical moments. The lively dead have always had a lot to say about religion, neighbourhood, gender, space and place, and emotion. This conference provides an opportunity to listen to them.
- When: 26 - 27 June, 2025
- Where: Rooms G10 and 202, Foundation Building, MIC Limerick Campus
Conference registration is now open.
Register
Keynote Speakers: Prof. Sasha Handley, The University of Manchester & Dr Shane McCorristine, Newcastle University
Conference organised by Dr Charlotte-Rose Millar (Melbourne), Dr Andrew Sneddon (Ulster), Dr Clodagh Tait (MIC)
Getting Here
MIC is situated just 20 minutes from Shannon Airport and is also just off the M7 Motorway which links with Dublin Airport.
It is also a 15 minute walk from Colbert Rail and Bus Station in Limerick City, meaning public transport is an option for visitors also.
There are a number of commercial coaches going directly from Dublin Airport to Limerick City.
Dublin Coach offers services from Dublin Airport to Limerick City.
eireagle offer coaches daily from Dublin Airport to Limerick City.
JJ Kavanagh offers services from Limerick to Dublin Airport.
Bus Éireann offer services from Cork Airport to Limerick City.
City Link offer services from Cork Airport to Limerick City.
Bus Éireann Expressway offer services from Shannon Airport to Limerick City.
Bus Éireann Route 343 - Shannon Airport to Limerick [operating 24/7].
Ireland is accessible by ferry through a number of companies. Please see ferry operator's websites for the must up to date routes and information as they are subject to change.
Holyhead, Wales to Dublin serviced by Irish Ferries.
Cherbourg to Ireland serviced by Irish Ferries and Stena Line.
Liverpool to Ireland serviced by P&O.
Roscoff to Cork serviced by Britany Ferries.
Fishguard, Wales serviced by Stena Line.
Pembroke, Wales serviced by Irish Ferries.
Isle of Man to Ireland serviced by Steam Packet Company.
Conference Registration Data Notice
One of your rights under EU law is that you must be informed when your personal data - also known as personal information - is processed (collected, used, stored) by any organisation including one of the EU institutions. You also have the right to know the details and purpose of that processing.
This notice will outline the processing of personal data of attendees of the Ghosts in Britain and Ireland 1500-1950 History Conference. As co-hosts of this conference with Ulster University, The University of Melbourne, The Hunt Museum and Limerick Museum, Mary Immaculate College (MIC) may collect your personal data only to the extent necessary for conference organisational purposes; to provide you with information about the conference (before, during and after) and process your application to attend. Where necessary, we may also share your information with service providers for the purposes of organising the conference and associated events.
How we use your personal data
If registering for the conference, we will collect some of your personal data for the purposes of processing your registration and for organisational matters. The data you provide will not be used for any additional purposes.
The personal data we will collect via our online form includes:
- Name
- Institution of Affiliation/Organisation
- Dietary & Access Requirements
MIC will delete this data immediately after the conference has taken place. We provide you with the option to express your consent in the registration form.
Visit the Data Protection Officer at the MIC Information Compliance page on the MIC website for more information on your rights and how to exercise them.
Programme
| Programme of Events - 26 & 27 June 2025, MIC Limerick (Foundation Building) |
|---|
| Thursday 26 June |
| 9am: Registration and welcome |
|
9.30am - 11am: Session One Ghosts as a Way of Understanding Political and Historic Events
Room 202 Ghosts in Supernatural Fiction
|
| 11am - 11.30am: Morning tea |
|
11.30am - 1pm: Session Two Room G10 Myth, Legend and Storytelling
Room 202 Poltergeists, Violent ghosts, and Changing Conceptions
|
| 1pm - 2pm: Lunch |
|
2pm - 3pm: Keynote Session Location: TBC Sasha Handley (Manchester); The Rectory Haunting and the Legacies of Women’s Ghostly Storytelling |
| 3pm - 3.30pm: Afternoon Tea |
|
3.30pm - 5pm: Session Three Room G10 Myth, Legend and Storytelling
Room 202 The Hauntology and Spectrality Research Group, York St John University
|
| Friday 27 June |
|
9.30am - 11am: Session One Community and Social Dynamics
|
| 11am - 11.30am: Morning tea |
|
11.30am - 1pm: Session Two Room G10 Seeking Communications with the Dead
Room 202 Memory and Trauma into the Modern Age
|
| 1pm - 2pm: Lunch |
|
2pm - 3pm: Keynote Session Location: TBC Shane McCorristine (Newcastle); Resurrections, Resuscitations, and the Restless Dead: The Ghostly Landscape of Post-mortem Punishment in Ireland and Britain |
| 3pm - 3.30pm: Afternoon Tea |
|
3.30pm - 5pm: Session Three Room G10 Medieval ideas into the Modern
Room 202 The Cultural Function of Apparitions
|
| 5pm - 5.30pm: Closing Remarks |
- About
- Getting Here
- Conference Registration Data Notice
- Programme
