University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
The sixteenth biennial meeting of the Society took place from July 29 to August 2 at University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, on the theme of “Insular Cultures.” Featured were four keynote lectures, thirty-nine regular papers, and seven project reports. 210 persons registered for the conference.
Keynote lectures were given by Jane Hawkes (on “East Meets West in Anglo-Saxon Sculpture”), Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (on “Making England Irish”), Michael Ryan (on “Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England: Contact and Contrast”), and Charles Wright (on “The Music of the Phoenix”). Papers were given by Rachel Anderson, Helen Appleton, Debby Banham, Elizabeth Boyle, Kevin Caliendo, Jonathan Davis-Secord, Janet Ericksen, Martin Findell, Damian Fleming, Helen Foxhall Forbes, Robert Gallagher, Robert Halstead, Alice Hicklin, John Hines, Matthew Hussey, Daria Izdebska, Jennifer Key, Lilla Kopar, Frank Lawrence, Francis Leneghan, Rory Naismith, Carol Neuman de Vegvar, Robin Norris, Michiko Ogura, Karen Eileen Overbey, David Pelteret, Phyllis Portnoy, Heather Pulliam, Helene Scheck, Christopher Scheirer, Scott Smith, Dieter Studer-Joho, Emily Thornbury, Benjamin Tilghman, Francesca Tinti, Jane Toswell, Christine Voth, Greg Waite, and Jonathan Wilcox. Project reports were given by Daniel Donoghue, Roy Flechner, Carole Hough, Kerstin Kazzazi and Gaby Waxenberger, Elizabeth O’Brien, Daniel O’Donnell, and Olga Timofeeva.
The conference was preceded by a two-day workshop on the theme of “Digital Resources: Data and Databases,” directed by Peter Stokes, with sessions by Toni Healey, Michael Drout, and Anthony Harvey. Seventeen students from thirteen different institutions participated in the workshop.
The conference began with a reception at the National Museum, at which Seamus Heaney gave a poetry reading. Two full days of sessions ended with a reception at the Royal Irish Academy, where delegates had the opportunity to view the exhibition entitled “‘Aon amharc ar Éirinn’ / ‘A glimpse of Ireland’: Irish families and their books”. The mid-conference excursion was to Glendalough (with a guided tour by Mary Kelly) and Powerscourt. Two more full days of sessions concluded with a General Membership Meeting presided over by Mary Clayton. Here the winners of the biennial ISAS publication prizes were announced. The conference concluded with a reception in the Long Room, Trinity College, where there was an exhibition of manuscripts held by Trinity College Library (entitled “Transmitting the Anglo-Saxon Past”) mounted specially for ISAS 2013, and a dinner in the Davenport Hotel.
A group of delegates then took part in a two-day post-conference excursion to Tara, Kells, Clonmacnoise, and Monasterboice.
The Advisory Board and the officers of ISAS met during the week to consider the Society’s business in sessions presided over by Executive Director Martin Foys. Carole Hough was welcomed as incoming President, succeeding Mary Clayton at the end of the calendar year.
Karen Jolly was welcomed as incoming First Vice-President. The election of Jane Hawkes and Peter Stokes to the Advisory Board was announced. Honorary memberships were awarded to Helen Damico, Malcolm Godden, Jack Niles, and Barbara Yorke. Mary Clayton and Alice Jorgensen were thanked for organizing a very successful conference. Hawai’i was chosen as the venue for the 2017 conference.