Looking back: Armagh conference 2019
On Saturday 6th April, the Church of Ireland Historical Society (COIHS) hosted its first conference of the year in the Armagh Robinson Library. We had a superb turnout and wish to thank members, both old and new as well as day visitors who came to hear four excellent papers. We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we loved hosting the conference. As always, many thanks for the wonderful staff at the Library for assisting us.
Professor Rachel Moss, who is Professor of Art History at Trinity College Dublin, initiated proceedings with a discussion on the impact of the Reformation had on medieval parish churches that passed on to the Church of Ireland in 1536. Mr David O’Shea, who is pursuing his PhD at Trinity College, Dublin, was the second presenter of the day. He delivered an excellent paper on the considerable music library of the Chapel Royal that has survived. He explored the complicated relations between the Chapel Royal, the Church of Ireland, and the lord lieutenants in Ireland.
After lunch, Dr Andrew Sneddon of the University of Ulster gave a intriguing presentation on the life and career of Bishop Francis Hutchinson. He analysed the English bishop’s awkward relationship with his Irish episcopal colleagues. The day finished with a paper by Dr Susan Hood from the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin who discussed the records now preserved at the library. She revealed their national importance and how the RCBL has been very successful in digitising them, notably the Church of Ireland Gazette and architectural drawings. The RCB Library has recently been successful in obtaining a large grant for digitising parish church register, details of which you can read here.
As part of the conference proceedings, Matthew Houston received a cheque of €150 for winning the 2018 COIHS Postgraduate Prize. His essay was entitled ‘The great crusade? The Church of Ireland and interpretations of the Second World War, 1939-45’. Matthew recently wrote a blog on his prize-winning essay which can be accessed here. Postgraduates interested in applying for the 2019 COIHS Prize can obtain details by clicking on the following link.
Members of the Society will be notified when the presentations delivered by Professor Moss, Dr Sneddon and Dr Hood are available on podcast. If anyone wishes to hear these papers but has not joined the Society, you are welcome to subscribe to our annual membership by visiting our membership page. Postgraduate students can avail of our special discount membership but are asked to email the secretary with proof on institutional affiliation prior to subscribing. Please visit the contact page. All members of the public are welcome to join COIHS.