Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of Limerick co-organised an International Conference on Yeats and India recently at the Convention Centre of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
The conference was inaugurated by Brian McElduff, Ambassador, Ireland; Dr M Jagadesh Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, JNU; and Dr Kirsten Mey, Vice-President, University of Limerick. The coordinators of the conference, Dr Margaret Mills Harper of UL and Dr Dhananjay Singh of JNU, spoke on how through WB Yeats, his poetry, drama, philosophy, and systemic thought, it is not only possible but also necessary to discover the connections between India and Ireland — their ancient heritage, colonial and post-colonial past, and prosperous future.
This conference is a further development of the strong relationship between JNU and the University of Limerick which started in 2017 with the first Irish Studies Lecture at JNU offered by Dr Ciara Breathnach, visiting professor from the University of Limerick. The professor spoke about commemoration, hunger strike, and the martyred body — Ireland 1877-1923. This saw the initiation of the Indo Irish lecture series at JNU.
On February 2018 the Irish Minister for Higher Education, Minister Michelle O’Connor visited JNU with the Ambassador of Ireland, Brian McElduff, and a delegation from the University of Limerick to formally hand over 100 books to the Centre for Historical Studies at JNU (funded by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs). The Minister witnessed the signing of a formal agreement between the two universities.
Reciprocal teaching in History at the University of Limerick by Dr Jyoti Atwal, Associate Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, JNU is also a feature of the relationship. Dr Atwal has been appointed Adjunct Professor at the University of Limerick for 2017-2022.
The Yeats conference has created more areas of collaboration between the University of Limerick and the Centre for English Studies, JNU, for student and faculty exchanges, joint doctoral supervision, and other academic activities.
