Princess Grace Irish Library to host lecture ‘The Republic of Letters’

The talk, entitled in full ‘The Republic of Letters’, 1919-1923 – Count Gerald O’Kelly and the Irish Revolutionary World’, will be delivered by Dr. Darrah Gannon, at the Princess Grace Irish Library (PGIL) on October 16 at 7 pm.

The intriguing title of the talk suggests that the Irish Republic, formed in 1919, was an ‘imagined community of individuals, ideas, and identities, created-in-writing, between Irish nationalists and the world’. The talk will re-interpret the international significance of the Irish Revolution as a ‘Republic of Letters’, exploring the rich literary collections of Count Gerald O’Kelly de Gallagh, housed at the Princess Grace Irish Library.

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Part of Dr. Gannon’s talk will be devoted to the book collection from Count O’Kelly’s estate, which Princess Grace acquired in the 1970s. Count O’Kelly was an Irish diplomat, who served as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to France for the Irish Free State government. The only Irish diplomat to remain in Paris throughout World War II, he secured the safety of Irish people who were trapped in France during the occupation, and gave Irish passports to British applicants in need.

About the speaker

Dr. Darragh Gannon is Associate Director of Global Irish Studies at Georgetown University. He has published widely on Irish and Global History. He was previously a Curatorial Researcher at the National Museum of Ireland, and is now a regular commentator on culture and current affairs for international media outlets, such as Le Monde, the Irish Times, the BBC, RTÉ, and TIME Magazine.

Dr Gannon is the autumn 2024 recipient of The Ireland Funds Monaco Bursary programme. The bursaries were created so that literary and academic writers, born or living on the island of Ireland, might benefit from a one-month residency at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco, and access to its collections, to further a project in progress.

Practical details:

When: 16 October 2024 @ 7 pm
Where: Princess Grace Irish Library, 9 rue Princesse Marie-de-Lorraine (1st floor), Monaco-Ville
Price: €10.
Tickets can be booked here or
reserved by email: info@pgil.mc or phone + 377 93 50 12 25.
Cash/cheque at the door, no credit cards.