The Global Irish Diaspora Congress which was scheduled for July 2020 will now be held from Wednesday 19 to Saturday 23 July 2023 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, with Saturday being devoted to a whole day bus trip to the KwaZulu-Natal battlefields.
Abstracts of papers that were already accepted for the 2020 conference remain in the proposed programme, and we are aware that this may not be a feasible option for some participants. Also there is an opportunity for submissions of new abstracts. The local Durban organising Committee will be in touch with all those whose papers were accepted for the 2020 congress and we would ask you to spread the word among colleagues and those who may be interested in submitting a proposal for the rescheduled congress.
- Anyone interested in presenting a paper should send an extract to Professor Donal McCracken, the Chair of the local organising committee at mccrackend@ukzn.ac.za There will be a quick turnaround for proposals as the programme was already in place for 2020 so it should only involve tweaking the original programme. The closing date for new submissions for review is Monday March 13th 2023 @ 17:00 GMT.
- Anyone who had an abstract accepted for July 2020 does not have to send a new abstract, but such individuals should confirm that they will be attending and delivering their paper as a matter of urgency and not later than Monday March 13th 2023 @ 17:00 GMT. Please do this by emailing Professor Donal McCracken at mccrackend@ukzn.ac.za
- In the spirit of keeping to the agreements of 2020, fees for the conference will remain as agreed for 2020: €210 before St Patrick’s Day 2023 and €260 afterwards. Fees for delegates from Africa will be R1600 and R2000 respectively. Please note that attendees and contributors are responsible for their own accommodation and travel expenses. The website will have recommendations for accommodation and bus transport from the Beach front hotel up to campus and back will be provided. The conference fee excludes the conference dinner and the battlefield trip to sites associated with Irish fighters in the Anglo-Zulu and Anglo-Boer wars but Donal is negotiating for good prices on these add-ons for those who wish to participate.