Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This is a live-stream of the lecture. An edited version of the lecture will be uploaded in due course.
Have a Question? No Registration Required
https://app.sli.do/event/5NmE2DS6WMXqasGNBzk9qd
A lecture by Mícheál Ó Mainnín
Brian Friel’s Translations, first staged in 1980, is one of Ireland’s best-known plays. Its major theme is the language question, and the role of the 19th-century Ordnance Survey in the decline of the Irish language and what the author described as a country being ‘rechristened’.
However, another major theme is language and reconciliation, which is articulated through the love affair of two of the play’s characters and draws on place names in Donegal and Norfolk. This lecture discusses this topic in national, as well as broader international contexts.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/language-reconciliation
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: twitter.com/greshamcollege
Facebook: facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: instagram.com/greshamcollege
This is a live-stream of the lecture. An edited version of the lecture will be uploaded in due course.
Have a Question? No Registration Required
https://app.sli.do/event/5NmE2DS6WMXqasGNBzk9qd
A lecture by Mícheál Ó Mainnín
Brian Friel’s Translations, first staged in 1980, is one of Ireland’s best-known plays. Its major theme is the language question, and the role of the 19th-century Ordnance Survey in the decline of the Irish language and what the author described as a country being ‘rechristened’.
However, another major theme is language and reconciliation, which is articulated through the love affair of two of the play’s characters and draws on place names in Donegal and Norfolk. This lecture discusses this topic in national, as well as broader international contexts.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/language-reconciliation
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support
Website: gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: twitter.com/greshamcollege
Facebook: facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: instagram.com/greshamcollege
