Page 21 - The 17th Percy French Festival: The Quest for Authenticity

Michael holds a PhD in philosophy from NUIG. A native
of Athlone where he was born into a business. He attended
Univer sity in Galway, and post graduate training in Counselling
Psy chology at University College Cork. He has written several

books in the genre of psy chology/personal devel opment and
was elected Fellow of the Irish Institute of Train ing and Develo -
pment. For several years he served on the national executive
of the Irish Association of Addiction Coun sel ling. In addition

to his work in the "eld of Psychology he has more recently
engaged with formal train ing in political philosophy receiving
both Master’s and Doctorate degrees in this "eld. His recent book
The Path to Mass Evil: Hannah Arendt and Totalitarianism Today,
1u =./9,%> D4Ry7E43 ($,$%, Routledge, New York) is currently avail able within the
academy worldwide and his new book, Misled? How Ideology
Captures Your Mind, is now avail able to general read ership.
Michael lives in Galway where he works as a psychologist and
edu cator with a private counselling prac tice. He also pre sents
seminars and work shops nation wide to family centres and
to adult educa tion services.

Catriona lectured in History at Galway University for %' years,
She has written books on nuns, social history, women’s maga-
zines, and women’s household work. She has just completed
a concise history of Ireland for Cambridge University Press,
and is now embarking on a biography of Alice Curtayne.
She has known and loved Percy French songs all her life.

1u ?,.+u@Í*, @2;4R

Patrick is a long-standing member of the Dictionary of Irish Biogra-
phy editorial team (joined $,,%), and has contributed more than
',, entries, including many on signi"cant political, literary, and
relig ious "gures of the $,th century, with particular reference to
Northern Ireland. He is a graduate of University College Cork (BA in
English and history; MA in history) and Queen’s University Belfast
(PhD in politics, postgraduate Cert in Higher Education Teaching).
He has taught history and politics at University College Dublin and
at QUB (where he held three research fellowships (!))%–(; !))'–
&; and !))&–$,,!). Has published numerous articles and book
chapters on !)th and $,th-century Irish history. He has written
two biogra phies: one of Daniel Corkery, the Irish politician, writer
1u 5,+u./0 =4>E; and academic, the other of D. P. Moran, (the Irish journalist, activist
and cultural-political theorist).

THE QUEST FOR AUTHENTICIT Y •-0 •