The 2014 Merriman Summer School will take place in Ennis, Co. Clare from August 13 to 17.

This year's theme is 'Emotional Life in Ireland'. It is a timely topic for a country which has yet again been dealing with the aftermath of trauma as we listen to stories of hidden pregnancies, secret births and unacknowleged deaths. How do we deal with our emotions and their consequences? Are we better at it now than we have been? What legacies have been left by our difficulty in understanding and reluctance to deal with our emotions? These are some of the areas for discussion at this year's Merriman Summer School.

The director of this year's school is Dr. Patrica Coughlan, Professor Emerita in the School of English at UCC. She has selected a rich panel of speakers. Social historians, writers, ethno-musicologists, psychologists, a psychiatrist, journalists and critics will explore a wide range of topics which touch on our experience in Ireland of dealing with emotion, and of its consequences. The opening lecture of the school on Wednesday evening, August 13th,will be given by Prof. Jim Lucey, medical director of St. Patrick's Hospital, Dublin. As always, poetry and prose will be a central part of the school's proceedings with a morning seminar series in English on 'Reading Edna O'Brien', and one in Irish dealing with aspects of emotion in the writings of Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Tomás Ó Criomhthain and Seosamh Mac Grianna. There will be poetry readings from William Wall, Paula Meehan and Bernard O'Donoghue, and plenty of music, formal and informal, including a fascinating talk by Lillis O Laoire and colleagues, incorporating performances , entitled ‘Emotion in the Irish Song Tradition'. 

Despite the seriousness of the theme, the school is always a happy and a sociable occasion, and this year will be no different. It runs from Wednesday evening to Sunday lunchtime and it's open to everyone and anyone! All you need is an interest in the topic and a curious mind. Most events take place in Ennis' excellent cultural venue, Glór, with tickets and further details are available through Glór on  www.glor.ie &  086 382 0671 during office hours.