AAU History & Philosophy Seminar: Sense and Censorship, the Emergence of Modern Ireland

Ireland from circa 1945 to 1969 underwent a dramatic transformation from a society where a conservative consensus was dominant to an increasingly liberal and open society. Most notable was the change from a church and state that were inward-looking and distrustful of novelty to one where the country joined the rest of the world and was increasingly influenced by more progressive ideas about politics, the economy, society, and religion.

This was perhaps best exemplified by the shift from a system of censorship designed to keep modern ideas out of the country to one in which that regime became irrelevant to a new Ireland and more pluralist attitudes as to how Irish society should be governed. This talk by University of Galway lecturer Tomás Finn will trace the intersection between state, church, and civil society, in terms of how this transition occurred while tracing the influence of intellectuals and ideas in modern Ireland. 

Finn has published a book and several articles on the role of intellectuals and the influence of ideas in the modernization of Ireland. His monograph Tuairim, Intellectual Debate and Policy formulation: Rethinking Ireland, 1954-75 was published by Manchester University Press in 2012.