Our April Lecture is:

‘Sailing into History: the epic voyage of Saoirse, the first boat to carry the Tricolour around the world, 100 years ago’
by Flor MacCarthy.

On the afternoon June 20th 1925, Limerickman Conor O’Brien emerged onto deck of his 42ft ketch, Saoirse, to the cheers of an estimated 10,000 onlookers who’d lined the quaysides in Dun Laoghaire. O’Brien had completed an extraordinary two-year circumnavigation that saw him navigate storms, the Doldrums, and the Three Great Capes, proudly flying the newly-minted flag of the Irish Free State. A grandson of William Smith O’Brien, and a fellow gunrunner with Erskine Childers in 1914, O’Brien would go on to run for Seanad Éireann and write a dozen books about his adventures.

Flor MacCarthy is a journalist and broadcaster whose bestselling book, The Presidents’ Letters was shortlisted for Best Irish-Published Book 2021. A presenter of current affairs programmes, she’s a former news journalist with RTÉ and is a regular contributor to The History Show. She recently wrote in the Irish Times about the voyage of Saoirse.

Note this talk will take place in St Matthew’s Church, Baltimore.

All welcome, with a small charge for non-members.