Samhlú - Seeing Things Seminar, May 1st

The multi-disciplinary author and researcher, Síle de Cléir, is to be the keynote speaker at a one-day event in Westport this May on the future of Irish towns. De Cléir, who has a background in fashion and textiles, is a leading researcher in folklore and ethnology, with a particular focus on the intersections of textiles, popular religion and identity. This range of research activity has given her a unique insight into the challenges facing small towns, and a way in to understanding their past. She is to speak at Samhlú - Seeing Things, an event  jointly hosted by Westport Civic Trust and UCD Centre for Irish Towns, reimagining a different past, present and future for small Irish towns.

“Samhlú is the act of imagining or creating something new. We ask can the material culture of towns inform more liveable, imaginative futures for everybody?” said John Mulloy, one of the event organisers.

“Across Ireland, small towns are alive with traces of the past — their streets, open spaces, even shopfronts and street furniture hold stories that continue to shape how we live today,” adds Orla Murphy of the UCD Centre for Irish Towns.“Yet many of them face new challenges such as vacancy, dereliction, degraded public space and the impacts of climate change. These, along with a loss of ritual and disappearing material practices all raise questions about how to sustain and nourish towns as socially inclusive places.”

The event brings together leading voices from architecture, heritage, cultural geography and the arts to ask: what would our small towns look like if we truly connected to their material reality? Speakers will include: Síle de Cléir (UL), Nessa Cronin (NUIG), Fiona White (ATU), Karen Keaveney (UCD), Philip Crowe (UCD), Laura Earley, Stephen Wall (UCD), Victoria Durrer (UCD) and more. Themes will include connection to rural identity, colonialism, morphology, ritual, adaptive capacity, mapping the future, inclusion, climate change and beauty.

The day will begin at 9.30, with a tour leaving the Wyatt Hotel at the Octagon. This walk will be led by Orla Murphy and will go the venue in Castlebar Street via Shop Street and Bridge Street, looking at the flowers on the thresholds for May Day. This will be followed by registration at the venue between 10.00 am and 10.15. Síle de Cléir will present the keynote and at 11 am the first session of short talks will explore themes of colonialism, rurality, creativity and beauty. The second session will begin at 12 noon, looking at culture, tradition, data and heritage, and will be followed at approximately 1pm by lunch (provided by Savoir Fare).

In addition to the talks, participants will be able to choose ONE of the following four activities in the 2-3pm slot. There will be two workshops: a visual art session led by local artist Tom Brawn (currently a postgraduate student at the Royal College of Art in London) and a creative writing workshop by poet and artist Alice Lyons on Words & Places. There will also be two tours taking place between 2 and 3 pm: one will feature a visit to the former Convent of Mercy site led by Padraig Connolly of Carey Construction, facilitated by the Mayo County Council Architect’s Office, and the other will be a tour exploring the physical layout of the town as an expression of power, led by John Mulloy.

At 3 pm John O’Callaghan will chair a general discussion, exploring the themes of the day, which will give everyone the chance to contribute and develop their own ideas. This will be followed at 4.30 pm by the official launch of the Westport Civic Trust’s website by Dr Oliver Whyte (Sr), our outgoing Chair.

Structured as a day of talks, workshops, and town walks, Samhlú – Seeing Things invites participants to explore continuity and change — from ancient May rituals to contemporary questions of livability and belonging.

The event takes place on Friday, 1 May 2026, at the old Dunnes Stores building, Castlebar Street, Westport. Booking for the event is through Samhlú (click for link). Tickets cost €25 and €15 for students/concessions and Westport Civic Trust members