The Emerald Isle is a beautiful land that is astonishingly green with very diverse scenery and a population with distinctive cultural traits. Ireland is an ancient land with thousands of years of history and prehistoric landmarks created by some of the earliest inhabitants post the last Ice Age. The Irish contribution to European culture includes stunning Bronze Age gold artefacts, Celtic Christian learning, illuminated manuscripts, and missionaries to the continent. The history of Medieval Ireland was intertwined with that of Britain and Western Europe through Viking and Anglo-Norman occupation and settlement, and since Tudor times there has been a tangle of political and cultural tension, economic exploitation, rebellion, resurgence, and a global diaspora. Ireland is full of surprises and shocking revelations, laughter, humour, bitterness, and ongoing challenges. This series of five lectures will provide an overview of Irish history and aims to inspire further reading, reflection and personal discovery.

(This is a slightly revised repeat of a course which has been previously offered.)

“How is morality related to the law? Can anyone know what is right or wrong? Are moral beliefs incurably subjective? Is the only possible objective morality, one which is based on religious beliefs? Is there an ‘absolute’ morality or are all moral beliefs necessarily relative to a particular society or culture? What are moral principles and where do they come from? Is it possible for serious moral disagreements to be resolved through rational discussion? Is it desirable that moral education should be part of the school curriculum?”

These questions are a sample of those which will be discussed. However, to some extent, which particular issues will be dealt with will be determined by audience interest and response. Although it’s intended that subsequent sessions will build on material covered earlier, each week’s talk will more or less constitute a self-contained unity. Technical terms will be kept to a minimum. Given that many of the topics listed above are controversial, questions and critical responses from the audience will be encouraged.