UPCOMING Event
UISCE
A reflection on how Irish weather has shaped, landscape, commerce & social life
DATE
October 19th, 2025
At a moment when the cycles of the weather and seasons seem to be changing, it is a good time to reflect on how Irish weather has shaped landscape, commerce, and social life. Join us for day of talks and poetry exploring how Irish people have lived with the weather today and in the past and celebrate the fogs, mists, drips, and puddles of the Irish weather.
Event Schedule
10 am: Opening & Welcome
10.30 am: ‘Floods, folklore and the River Feale: cultural interactions of a spate river’
This lecture by historian and Ennismore native Tom Dillon will explore how the tendency of the River Feale as a spate river to react quickly to rainfall has impacted on the lives of those who lived along its course in the past. Using historical sources, he will reveal how flooding on the Feale over the centuries has shaped human settlement in the landscape and influenced the cultural interaction of local inhabitants with the river through placenames, songs and folklore.
11.30 am: A Brief History of the Rain in Ireland, 1800 to present day
Over the past 200 years, changes to agriculture, the Famine, urbanization, along with climate change have all shifted how we have encountered and experienced the weather. Through delving into landscape, paintings, film, novels, and diaries, this lecture by Dr. Erika Hannan explores hoe people throughout Ireland’s modern history have thought about the weather and made sense of both the beauty of mists and fogs, and the threats of floods and droughts.
Dr Erika Hanna is Associate Professor in Modern History at the University of Bristol. She is the author of Modern Dublin: Urban Change and the Irish Past (Oxford, 2013), and Snapshot Stories: Visuality, Photography, and the Social History of Ireland, 1922-2000 (Oxford, 2020). She is currently researching climate adaptations in the Irish built environment, 1800-present.
12.30 pm: River Walk
A stroll along the banks of the River Feale to explore the effects of climate change on its eco system.
2.30 pm: Poetry in the Park
An open mic gathering of poets and writers featuring work focusing on rainfall and weather, with special guest Emer Fallon, Kerry County Council Writer in Residence.
Let’s talk about the Weather
Leading up to this event, Emer Fallon will deliver a poetry workshop on Saturday October 4th from 10.30 am to 12 noon in St. John’s Theatre & Arts Centre. The workshop will feature prompts & peer-led discussions on climate & culture. Limited places available.
Workshop bookings to emerwriterinres@gmail.com
Uisce is a free event but booking is recommended.