A 2-day conference at PRONI, Belfast 13th to 14th June 2019
Residential institutions in Ireland have a long history stretching back at least to the friaries, monasteries and abbeys of the medieval period. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, following enlightenment reformist movements, workhouses, asylums, prisons and other institutions were built in ever-greater numbers. As the numbers and types of residential institutions for the care, confinement and/or reform of various marginal groups proliferated, critics questioned their effectiveness, the living conditions prevailing within and their very humanity, questions that still loom large in Ireland today.
This conference seeks to bring together researchers at every level (postgraduate, early career and established) to assess the ‘state of the discipline’ in relation to research on the history of institutions in Ireland. The organisers (Dr Gillian Allmond and Max Meulendijks, QUB; Triona Waters, University of Limerick) would be particularly interested to receive papers on the following subject areas (papers to be 15 to 20 minutes in length), but all topics relating to institutions will be considered.
The call for papers closes on 31st March 2019. Abstracts not exceeding 250 words in length, together with a short biography should be sent to Dr Gillian Allmond at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.