6th September 2001

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A fascinating insight into female literature and history will be revealed this weekend at the University of Ulster.

Writing Women’s History is the title of a two-day conference organized by the Women’s History Association of Ireland.

The conference aims to explore how Irish women in the past have written about themselves and how historians write about them now.

One of the highlights of the event will be the debut lecture from Michael Lillis, who will be speaking on Eliza Lynch, an Irish woman who became a national heroine in Paraguay despite her leading role in the Paraguayan war.

The story has already attracted widespread media coverage in Argentina, Paraguay, Spain and Brazil but will be the first time it has been delivered in the UK.

Contemporary women’s political biography will also be on the agenda with discussion lead by Lorna Siggins (Mary Robinson), Justine McCarthy (Mary McAleese) and Margaret Ward (Hanna Sheehy Skeffington).

Event Organizer Janice Holmes said: “Not only will this be an opportunity to hear about the life stories of a number of interesting Irish women, it will also be a chance to explore some of the issues surrounding the writing of their biographies and autobiographies, such as: how truthful is an autobiography? what role does the biographer play ? should we even write biographies ?”.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk