Tickets to the in-theatre events at the Kennedy Summer School 2021 are now sold out and the organisers of the popular event are set to bring all of the events global with an online streaming service via kennedysummerschool.ie.
Speaking on the announcement of the free online streaming Chair of the Kennedy Summer School Willie Kielthy says: “Tickets to the Summer School this year were limited due to current restrictions and we placed all of these for sale online at noon on Wednesday last, they sold-out within 4 minutes. This shows the incredible interest in the Summer School events and we are very grateful to everyone who is supporting the summer school but also we are keenly aware of our loyal festival-goers who may have missed out.
“Therefore we are delighted to announce that we will be bringing all of the events on Friday, September 3rd and Saturday, September 4th online with a live streaming service and that ‘festival-goers will be able to enjoy all of the 2021 Kennedy Summer School events free of charge from the comfort of home.”
The Summer School will be officially opened by Chief Executive of Fáilte Ireland Paul Kelly. Paul is leading Ireland’s National Tourism Development Authority through the deepest crisis ever for the country’s tourism industry and the largest source of employment. His work is to ensure survival, enable reopening and reimagine a different future post-Covid.
Following this opening speech, Seamus Whelan, son of the late Noel Whelan, the founder of the Kennedy Summer School, will take to the stage. Seamus will offer the opening address for the inaugural ‘Noel Whelan Interview’.
Professor Luke O’Neill of Trinity College Dublin will be interviewed for the inaugural Noel Whelan Interview at 6pm on Friday, September 3rd where he will be discussing the turbulence of life during Covid-19; he will be interviewed by Virgin Media’s Zara King.
Prior to this on Friday afternoon the Department of An Taoiseach will host a ‘Shared Island Experience’ discussion at 2pm with Darragh O’Brien TD, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage; MP Stephen Farry Alliance Party of Northern Ireland; writer, lawyer and commentator Sarah Creighton and Dr Bob Mauro of Boston College. This event will be chaired by journalist Bryan Dobson.
At 7.30pm that evening, US Politics will be the point of focus. Joining the US political panel to discuss how polarised America is will be US Congressman Brendan Boyle and Mick Mulvaney the former White House Chief of Staff, Special Envoy to Northern Ireland and US Congressman with moderator Eileen Dunne of RTÉ.
At 9pm the always fascinating The Edward M. Kennedy Interview will take place. On this occasion, RTÉ’s former Northern Ireland editor Tommie Gorman will be discussing life behind the lens of reporting on Northern Ireland during his distinguished career bearing witness to extraordinary happenings in the North for over 20 years. He will be interviewed by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Saturday, September 4th commences with a History Panel as eminent historians Dr Margaret O’ Callaghan of Queen’s University Belfast, Dr Cormac Moore Historian in Residence at Dublin City Council, Dr Bill Kissane of London School of Economics and Dr Donnacha Ó Beacháin of Dublin City University discuss a range of seminal events in Irish and American history with moderator Dr Mary C. Murphy of UCC.
At 2pm an Irish Politics Panel will be the focus of attention as an all-female lineup of representatives will discuss the impact of Covid-19, the current housing crisis and more. The panel includes Jennifer Whitmore of the Social Democrats, Neasa Hourigan from the Green Party, Jennifer Carroll McNeill of Fine Gael and Mairead Farrell of Sinn Féin with RTÉ’s political reporter Mary Regan as moderator.
At 3.30pm that afternoon, a panel of Ireland’s leading legal journalists will take to the stage to discuss ‘Covering the Courts’ offering an insight into reporting on some of Ireland’s most fascinating legal cases that have gripped the nation in recent years. The panel will include Conor Gallagher crime correspondent for The Irish Times, Frank Greaney the Communicorp courts correspondent, Orla O’Donnell RTÉ’s legal affairs correspondent and Vivienne Traynor RTÉ’s court’s reporter with moderation from former Director-General of the Law Society of Ireland Ken Murphy.
The final event of the 2021 summer school will see Washington correspondent Suzanne Lynch of The Irish Times join RTE’s Washington correspondent Brian O’Donovan and Donie O’Sullivan of CNN as they discuss ‘Reporting on America in a Time of Tumult’ offering an insight into their own first-hand experiences of covering the Trump and Biden administrations and the complex media landscape in the US with moderator Larry Donnelly.
The Kennedy Summer School and Festival is run in association with New Ross Municipal District, Wexford County Council and Boston College. The Kennedy Summer School Directors include Willie Keilthy, Larry Donnelly, Dr Brian Murphy, Sinead McSweeney, Eileen Dunne, Eamonn Hore and Dr Bob Mauro.
