We are delighted to be returning to Dingle alongside our musical counterpart Other Voices to present Ireland's Edge - Trust Issues / Muinín Faoi Amhras on Friday 1st + Saturday 2nd of December in the Dingle Skellig Hotel, West Kerry.

The theme of this year's programme, 'Trust Issues / Muinín Faoi Amhras’, considers the breakdown of trust in the structures that uphold our society - public institutions, parliaments, hospitals, universities, broadcasters, the technology industry and business, and asks if and how it can be restored. Growing levels of distrust in key public and private institutions present profound challenges to our future, both on home shores and beyond. As we are constantly confronted with conflicting information, deciding what to do and who to believe becomes all the more difficult, and threatens to deepen divisions in all aspects of civil and social life.

Ireland’s Edge is now in its ninth year and as always, it will bring together curious minds, passionate voices and diverse outlooks for a weekend of thought-provoking discussion. There will also be music and performance for the head and heart.

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// FRI 1 DEC //

13:30: REGISTRATION

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14:00 - 14:15: MUSIC AT THE EDGE: NICOLE NÍ DHUBHSHLÁINE + KYLE MACAULAY

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14:15 - 14:50: THE ART OF CO-COLLABORATION + THE FUTURE OF OPERA IN THE AGE OF AI

‍Dumbworld in Conversation - Brian Irvine & John McIlduff // Founders + Artistic Directors, Dumbworld | In conversation with Dermot McLaughlin

In this lively session, Brian Irvine and John McIlDuff of an artist-led, creative production company Dumbworld will present examples of their innovative and award-winning works - three of which will be presented across the weekend of Other Voices. The beauty of Dumbworld is their fearless approach to subverting traditional art forms and presenting them through non-traditional mediums; a particular future focus that they will explore in this session is how the AI revolution could enable a radical reworking of what we understand as opera and co-collaboration. We’ll find out more about this from Brian and John in conversation with Dermot McLaughlin

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14:50 - 15:35 - OK COMPUTER: THE AGE OF AI

‍Mark Little, Founder, Storyful and Kinzen // Kerry McInerney, Research Fellow, Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge; Co-Host, The Good Robot Podcast | moderated by Mark O’Connell, Author + Writer 

From deep fakes to robots, writing to music, artificial Intelligence is already transforming our lives and societies, at a speed that few of us anticipated. While some believe AI will help us optimise our world, others caution that we may be creating something we cannot control. So what are the opportunities and challenges of this brave new world?

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16:00 - 16:30: TRANSATLANTIC TIES: IN CONVERSATION WITH AMBASSADOR CLAIRE D. CRONIN   

‍Claire D. Cronin, US Ambassador to Ireland | In conversation with Philip King 

Ireland’s Edge and Other Voices have partnered with the U.S. Embassy in Dublin since 2015 to connect American artists, writers, filmmakers, cultural innovators, and musicians with Irish counterparts to foster our creative sectors.  Ambassador Claire D. Cronin, appointed by President Joe Biden, has focused on cultural diplomacy, coupled with diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, as key parts of her agenda.  Her signature “Open Doors” program welcomes new audiences to the U.S. Embassy and the Deerfield residence, with an emphasis on engaging students from underserved communities. At Ireland’s Edge, she joins founder of Other Voices Philip King to discuss the role of culture in the U.S.-Irish relationship, her career as a legislator in Massachusetts, and what it means to be Irish  American. 

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16:30 - 17:15: WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE: ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHAOS

‍Alex White, Senior Counsel, Director General of the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) // Martha Farrell, Director and Co-Founder of the Maharees Conservation Association CLG // Caitlin Faye Maniti, Student Activist and Advocate | Moderated by Christopher Kissane 

Most of the world agrees with the scientific fact that humans are dangerously altering the earth's climate, but it also can't agree what to do about it. Major powers quarrel over who needs to change first, economic sectors argue about who are the biggest offenders, while generations squabble about the need for urgency. In a global crisis where the blame and the damage are unequally distributed, how do we create the consensus needed to act before it's too late?

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17:15 - 17:50: AOIFE MOORE: "COWARDS AND WOMEN"

‍Aoife Moore, Journalist; Author of The Long Game: Inside Sinn Féin; BBC Dublin Correspondent | In conversation with Christopher Kissane

 Dublin Correspondent for the BBC and former Journalist of the Year Aoife Moore spent the last few years writing a book about Sinn Féin while the party climbed ever higher in opinion polls. What does their extraordinary journey from political irrelevance to the brink of power on both sides of the border tell us about how they would govern Ireland?

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17:50 - 18:05: MUSIC AT THE EDGE: MÉABH MCKENNA‍

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16:05: FINISH

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// SAT 2 DEC //

11.30 - 12:15: UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE

‍Professor Orla Feely, President, University College Dublin // Professor John O’Halloran, President, University College Cork | Moderated by Professor John Naughton, Centre for Research in the Arts Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), Cambridge University

‍Professor Orla Feely and Professor John O’Halloran belong to a new generation of university presidents, both appointed in the past two years. Both believe strongly in the transformative power of universities not just on the lives of students and faculty but on society and the world beyond the walls of their institutions. They are  joined in conversation with John Naughton, writer, educator, Observer newspaper technology columnist, senior research fellow at the Centre for Research in the Arts Social Sciences and Humanities at Cambridge University and Professor Emeritus at the Open University. Just some of the big issues up for discussion include how to provide the best learning experience for students in the digital age, what form that takes with online now a prominent element in the delivery of third level education and what are the particular challenges facing the leaders and policy makers in universities today.

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12:15 - 13:00: EVERYBODY HURTS: THE FUTURE OF IRISH HEALTHCARE

‍Dr Monica Peres Oikeh, GP with Special Interest in Women’s Health // Professor Sara Burke, Associate Professor of Public Health & Primary Care,Trinity College // Phil Ní Sheaghdha, General Secretary, Irish Nurses and Midwives Association Dublin | Moderated by Christopher Kissane 

 Patients who feel the service is getting worse, institutions beset by scandals, nurses and doctors who feel overworked and undervalued, and a society whose trust in the medical profession is under question: the Irish healthcare system has many ailments. So how do we bring people together to bring it into the future?

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13:00 - 13:30: ‘SUCH STUFF AS DREAMS ARE MADE ON’

‍Caitríona McLaughlin, Artistic Director / Co-Director of the Abbey Theatre | In conversation with Dermot McLaughlin 

Caitríona Mclaughlin was Associate Director at the Abbey Theatre from 2017-2020, where her productions included: The Great Hunger by Patrick Kavanagh and On Raftery’s Hill by Marina Carr, (for which she won Best Director at the 2019 ITTA). Caitríona started her directing career in 2003 and has directed plays in prestigious theatres in London and New York. Her recent production of Brian Friel’s Translations won “Best Play Revival” at the 2022 UK Theatre Awards. Here, she speaks Dermot McLaughlin about her career, the arts and the future of Ireland’s National Theatre. 

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13:30 - 13:40: HELPING IRISH HOSTS

‍Angie Gough, Co founder and CEO of Helping Irish Hosts

Over 10,000 homes across Ireland have opened their doors and hearts to displaced Ukrainians since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Right now, 21% of Ukrainians living in Ireland are living in host homes and pledged properties. Angie Gough, Co founder and CEO of Helping Irish Hosts will share an update and insights on how the refugee welcome is playing out in homes and host communities across Ireland on Saturday at 1.20pm in the Skellig Hotel.  The Helping Irish Hosts team will be in Dingle all weekend to meet hosts and anyone curious about hosting displaced people. Come say hello, share your story, get support and find out more:  Friday 10-4pm at The Dingle Hub (with surprise special guest performances from 3pm!)

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14:45 - 15:30: DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ IN THE PAPERS

Sinéad O’Carroll, Editor, TheJournal.ie // Siobhán Holliman, Deputy-Editor of the Tuam Herald; Future of Media Commission // Siobhán Cronin, Editor of the Southern Star | Moderated by Christopher Kissane

 The Irish were once the biggest newspaper readers in Europe, but in recent years our interest has begun to decline. With news reporting and investigative journalism facing an existential funding crisis, and trust in information itself rapidly declining due to "fake news" and the excesses of social media, what is the future of a world with less news?

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15:30 - 15:45: MUSIC AT THE EDGE: RACHAEL LAVELLE

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15:45 - 16:35: ‘A VIEW FROM THE HILL’ IN CONVERSATION WITH FIONA HILL

Fiona Hill, Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution; Chancellor, Durham University; former Senior Director for European and Russian affairs, U.S. National Security Council | In conversation with Tony Connelly, RTÉ Europe Editor

Fiona Hill is one of the world’s leading foreign policy experts who has served successive White House administrations advising Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump on European and Russian affairs, famously testifying against then President Trump during his first impeachment in 2019. At Ireland’s Edge, she speaks to Tony Connelly about the current crises and conflicts that have exacerbated global divisions and highlighted a shift in global power dynamics, as well as democratic decline in the US and the looming 2024 election. She also gives a compelling account of her personal story, one of overcoming socio-economic and gender barriers to reach the prominent position she holds today. She is a strong believer in the power of personal stories in connecting with people in politically polarised and fractured times.

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16:35: FINISH

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Join us // Bígí linn.

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