Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, recently visited the University of Limerick to address the Centre for Irish-German Studies. The Centre was celebrating the publication of five works linked to the Centre in the last academic year.

Dr Gisela Holfter said; “We can look back on a particularly active period with many publications, two high-profile conferences last summer and several new members joining the Centre for Irish-German Studies. There is also the successful start of the MA in Irish-German Studies this September with students not only from Ireland and Germany but also from Poland and Bulgaria. Today we are delighted that together with many of our friends and colleagues Minister Jimmy Deenihan is with us to celebrate these achievements."

At the event several publications in Irish-German Studies and from the Centre members were presented: Polish-Irish Encounters in the Old and New Europe edited by Sabine Eggers, John McDonagh, Heinrich Böll and Ireland by Dr Gisela Holfter, Poor Green Erin by Professor Eoin Bourke, Contemporary German-Irish Cultural Relations in a European Perspective – Exploring Issues in Cultural Policy and Practice edited by Joachim Fischer, Rolf Stehle, Marx-Engels Jahrbuch 2011 (on Friedrich Engels and his history of Ireland) edited by Dr Gisela Holfter and Jürgen Herres.

The Centre for Irish-German Studies was founded in September 1997 at the University of Limerick and accordingly celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. It was officially launched at the 1st Limerick Conference for Irish-German Studies, which was followed by twelve international conferences since (mainly in Limerick but last year also in Dublin and Berlin). The main aim of the Centre is to encourage and support research dealing with all aspects of Irish-German relations.