Rural Futures Conference
Rural Futures/Todhchaí na Tuaithe:
Social and Environmental Justice in Ireland
Sacred Heart University, Dingle, Ireland
June 8-10, 2026
The inaugural three-day Rural Futures conference at Sacred Heart University’s campus in Dingle, Ireland, will feature keynote speaker Nessa Cronin (University of Galway), and a plenary conversation on the future of rural Irish literature with authors Belinda McKeon (Maynooth University) and Mike McCormack (University of Galway).
The conference theme—Rural Futures/ Todhchaí na Tuaithe: Social and Environmental Justice in Ireland—invites considerations of rural experiences in Irish politics, social history, culture and arts, as well as attention to the history of rural life in Ireland: the intersections of past and present; critical discoveries in ecology, archeology and history; political, cultural and demographic change, and other transformations (and continuities) of landscape and place.
Call for Papers
We welcome proposals for papers and presentations across all disciplines, as well as the creative and practical arts, in order to come together to explore the multiple futures of rural Ireland. Proposals for roundtable proposals that address any aspect of rural experience in Ireland are also encouraged. As with our previous Sea, Land and Spirit conference in Dingle, held in 2017, we welcome practitioners working in rural contexts, as well as scholars, artists and writers.
Proposals may address the following:
- Rural Irish diversities, including new demographics, identities and intersectionalities
- Writing about rural Ireland, past and future Irish literary traditions and Irish publishing
- Rural studies and globalization; comparative rural studies
- Irish language futures
- Sustainability, conservation, tourism and heritage
- Social justice and rural activism
- Environmental futures for rural Ireland
- Initiatives and challenges in physical and mental health and safety
- Food and well-being
- Rural economies
- Fishing and coastal communities
- Tourism, cultural heritage sites, and deep mapping
- Rural music, theatre and film
- Recent political transformations, including Brexit
- Rural engagements with the medical humanities, disability and neurodiversity
- Ecocritical and environmental humanities
- Politics of technologies in rural communities
- Voices of marginalized and minority communities in rural Ireland
- Visual representations: film, photography, art and digital video
Accomodations
Accommodation will be available at the Dingle Skellig Hotel at a special rate for registered participants. Dingle—the village and peninsula—is rich in history, natural beauty and cultural energy. We look forward to sharing updates about music, film screenings and optional excursions.
Organizing Committee
- Ciara Barrett, Ph.D. SHU Dingle
- Abby Bender, Ph.D., Director, Center for Irish Studies, Sacred Heart University
- Gary Delaney, Executive Director and Company Secretary, SHU Dingle
- Dáithí de Mórdha, Ph.D., SHU Dingle
- Ross Fitzgerald, SHU Dingle
- Grace Flannery, Ph.D., SHU Dingle
- Billy Mag Fhloin, Ph.D., SHU Dingle
- John B. Roney, Ph.D., Sacred Heart University
Keynote Speaker
Nessa Cronin, Ph.D.
Plenary Conversation
Belinda McKeon and Mike McCormack
Registration
Coming Soon!
More Information
For additional information, email ruralfuturesdingle@gmail.com.
Photo credit: “Dusk or Dawn?” by John Roney, Ph.D., SHU Professor Emeritus (Dingle, Ireland, 2020)