Schedule

July 23rd

Wednesday

10.00 am

Dr Brian Griffin

‘Wounded men are calling me to come and ease their pain’:
Percy French and the Great War

10.30 am

Q & A

10.45 am

Dr Caitriona Clear

Percy French as philosopher and chronicler of everyday life

11.15 am

Q & A

11.30 am

Tea/coffee

12.00 pm

Dr Patrick Maume

Political Satire Verse/Performance in the late C19th/early C20th

12.30 pm

Q & A

12.45 pm

Dr Maeve O’Riordan

Ideas of self and the 'surplus woman':
single women of the Big House

1.15 pm

Q & A

1.30 pm

Lunch

3.00 pm

Afternoon recital

Michael Banahan

An authentic broken heart

4.00 pm

Gardens Open

July 24th

Thursday

10.00 am

Dr Eve Watson

The Affirmation, Energy and Meaning that comes from direct human interaction

10.30 am

Q & A

10.45 am

Laoise de Brún BL

Ireland, a century on, our culture in crisis; have we segued from one theocracy to the next, one master to another, on the journey to find our authentic selves?

11.15 am

Q & A

11.30 am

Tea/coffee

12.00 pm

Michael Hardiman

Authenticity: The Antidote to Postmodern Nihilism

12.30 pm

Q & A

12.45 pm

Sean Freyne 1935–2013

Sean Freyne
1935-2013

The Sean Freyne Memorial Lecture

Una B Agnew

Authenticity: Learning not to care

1.15 pm

Q & A

1.30 pm

Lunch

3.00 pm

Dr Stephen J Costello

Meaning and the Drama of Authentic Human Existence

3.30 pm

Q & A

3.45 pm

Afternoon recital

Malachy Tuohy

Percy French in view

4.30 pm

Gardens open

July 25th

Friday

10.00 am

Anthony Waldron 1961–2025

Anthony Waldron
1961–2025

The Anthony Waldron Memorial Lecture

Michael Harding

My Dark Rosaleen–Myth and authenticity in Irish history

10.30 am

Q & A

10.45 am

Stephen Collins

TBC

11.15 am

Q & A

11.30 am

Tea/coffee

12.00 pm

Keynote Address

Senator Michael McDowell

TBC

12.30 pm

Q & A

12.45 pm

Summing-up & Panel discussion

Senator Michael McDowell, Una Agnew, Alf Monaghan, Dr Eve Watson

Chair: Paul Healy

1.30 pm

Lunch

3.00 pm

Afternoon Recital

Col Ceathair

The Authentic Oscar Wilde and Percy French

4.00 pm

Gardens Open

Please be seated 15 minutes before the first talk each day.
The Festival schedule is subject to change.

Tickets

Early Booking Special Offer

Each whole day covers:

  • Three / Four Lectures
  • Afternoon Recital
  • Tea / Coffee / Homemade Cakes
  • Wednesday 23 July €50
  • Thursday 24 July €50
  • Friday 25 July €50
  • Secondary/graduate student: €20 per day
  • Child under 12, when accompanied by an Adult ticket holder: €10 per day

Don’t miss out, Festival tickets sell out quickly!

Buy online

Pay now by card. Your ticket will be given to you on the day.

Select dates and checkout:
You can specify ticket quantity on the next page.

Adult

Student

Adult + child under 12


Or buy through our ticket office:

  • +353 (0)90 666 3794

The 17th Percy French Festival

The Quest for Authenticity

23rd/24th/25th July 2025

At Castlecoote House

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