The Dorothy Macardle Humanities Lecture

The Dorothy Macardle Humanities Lecture

The Department of Humanities at Dundalk Institute of Technology is delighted to announce that Professor Emilie Pine, acclaimed author and Professor of Modern Drama at University College Dublin, will deliver this year’s Dorothy Macardle Humanities Lecture.

Date & Time:
Tuesday, 10 February 2026, at 2:30 PM
Venue: Whitaker Theatre, DkIT

Lecture Title:
“The hunger to be writing is on me” (Dorothy Macardle, 1923): On channelling the urge to write and the need to be seen.

Inspired by writers like Macardle and Nuala O'Faolain's insistence on writing as an expression of the self and their refusal to be invisible, in this talk Emilie Pine reflects on the need to be seen, the rewards of writing, and the costs of putting yourself on the page.

Professor Pine is internationally recognized for her scholarship and creative work. Her bestselling essay collection, Notes to Self, winner of the 2018 Irish Book of the Year, has been translated into 16 languages. Her debut novel, Ruth & Pen (2022), won the 2023 Kate O’Brien First Novel Award. She is currently working on a new essay collection, On Being Seen, to be published by Penguin in 2027.

Her academic contributions include The Politics of Irish Memory (2010) and The Memory Marketplace (2020). She has led major research projects, including Industrial Memories, a digital witnessing of the Ryan Report, and served as founding director of the Irish Memory Studies Research Network. As a theatre-maker, Pine has collaborated with leading companies such as ANU Productions and Dead Centre Theatre Company, with her play Good Sex shortlisted for Best New Play and Best Production at the 2023 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards.

The Dorothy Macardle Humanities Lecture celebrates the legacy of Dundalk-born writer, activist, and historian Dorothy Macardle (1889–1958), whose work spanned literature, politics, and social justice. Each year, DkIT invites a distinguished speaker to engage with themes central to Macardle’s interests—identity, place, and community.

This event is generously supported by Dundalk Credit Union, whose commitment to fostering a socially conscious and thriving community aligns with the spirit of the lecture series.

Further Information:

• About Professor Emilie Pine: https://people.ucd.ie/emilie.pine
• About Dorothy Macardle: https://www.dib.ie/biography/macardle-dorothy-margaret-a5097