Whose Land is it Anyway? Historical and Ongoing Contestation of Irish Land Ownership

As we recognize and honor Indigenous People’s day, this seminar will delve into Ireland’s deep historical connection with the land, exploring the dynamics of ownership, identity, use, access, and control. By examining these elements, we aim to uncover parallels with Indigenous experiences and consider how these themes remain relevant today, from farm-to-fork movements to contemporary land rights debates. Dr. Mícheál Ó Fathartaigh will present. Panelists include Shelagh Mullen and Ella Padden. The host will be Natalie Nugent O’Shea.

Register for the free webinar here.

Dr. Mícheál Ó Fathartaigh is an agricultural and rural, and political historian of Ireland. He is a committee member of the Social Sciences Research Centre at the University of Galway and a research affiliate of the Archives of Rural History, Bern, and he lectures in Irish history on the Dublin programs of Boston University, CEA CAPA and CIEE. He has had four books published: Birth of a State (with Liam Weeks, Irish Academic Press, 2021); Developing Rural Ireland (Wordwell Books, 2021 – winner of 1st Prize in the Nilsson Heritage Writing Competition at Listowel Writers’ Week in 2022); The Treaty: Debating and Establishing the Irish State (with Liam Weeks, Irish Academic Press, 2018); and Irish Agriculture Nationalised (Institute of Public Administration, 2014). This year he was co-editor, with Mel Farrell, of a special issue of Irish Political Studies entitled: ‘Anatomy of a Postcolonial State: Year Zero and Beyond for Independent Ireland’ and is currently researching the history of Irish land use for the Irish government’s land use review. He is chair of the Agricultural History Society of Ireland and he lives in Galway.

Shelagh Geraghty Mullen is passionate about Ireland, everything about it. She has traveled to that glorious country numerous times, her last trip being for a culinary program at the Dublin Cookery School. Upon her return, she now fancies herself the Irish Chef of Minnesota. Shelagh holds cooking classes in her home kitchen and teaches private/corporate events and cooking demonstrations at Irish Fair Minnesota. Shelagh’s goal is to debunk the myths about Irish food. It is not all fish n’ chips or boiled meals (although still a common occurrence). The surrounding sea, the lush, green land, and a long growing season provide products in abundance. There has been a real Renaissance in Irish food and cooking, and Shelagh wants to share it all with you.

Ella Padden (They/She) is an archivist researching environmental humanities, food records, and cultural heritage through a community lens. With a MA in Archives and Records management from University College Dublin, they have worked and volunteered in a variety of archives and cultural institutions including the National Folklore Collection of Ireland, the Irish Traditional Music Archive, the Eoin McKiernan Library, University College Dublin, and most recently, University of Oregon. A recipient of an Irish Arts Minnesota Education Grant (2023) and an UCD Global Excellence Scholar (2023), Ella is working to connect culture to food on both sides of the Atlantic.