On Saturday, 27th April, 2024 a conference took place at Cathal Brugha Barracks, Military Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6. It was to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth (18th July) of the revolutionary Cathal Brugha and his impact on the events of early 20th century Ireland. The conference was co-organised and coordinated by historians Gerard Shannon and Liz Gillis, the Irish Military Archives and the Military History Society of Ireland.
The conference was held 108 years to the day of one of the most famous episodes of Brugha’s revolutionary career: his wounding and subsequent stand against British soldiers at the South Dublin Union in the midst of the 1916 Easter Rising.
The full programme was as follows:
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
10:15: Arrival, tea and coffee.
11:00 – 11:30: Opening remarks by Brig Gen (retd.) Tony Cudmore, President of the Military History Society of Ireland.
11:40 – 13:00: Session One – Legacy and Early activism
Do chum glóire Dé agus onóra na hÉireann: Brugha in Memory and Commemoration by Dr Caitlin White (TCD).
A deep commitment to Irish language and culture: Cathal Brugha and the Gaelic League by Dr Mary MacDiarmada (DCU).
Cathal Brugha, the 4th Battalion and the 1916 Rising by Liz Gillis (Independent Scholar).
Ten minutes Q & A.
13:00 – 14:00: Break for lunch.
14:00-15:20: Session Two – Through Revolution and Truce
‘The chances of any of the party of Volunteers surviving subsequent to those executions would be one in a million’: Cathal Brugha’s plan to assassinate the British Cabinet by Fergus O’Farrell (Independent Scholar).
Duty, conspiracy and enmity: Cathal Brugha as Minister for Defence, 1919-22 by Dr Daithí Ó’Corrain (DCU) and Dr Gerard Hanley (DCU).
‘Would prefer to die by an Orange bullet or an English bullet’: Cathal Brugha and the drift to Civil War by Gerard Shannon (Independent Scholar).
Ten minutes Q & A.
15:20 – 15:40: Break, tea and coffee.
15:40 – 16:30: Session Three – Death and Aftermath
Death in Dublin: The battle for Dublin and death of Cathal Brugha by John Dorney (Independent Scholar).
Caitlín Brugha: Sincere and Wholehearted Loyalty by Joanne Rothwell (Waterford County Council).
Ten minutes Q & A.
16:30 – 17:00: Closing Address
‘Selfless Commitment to What Was Right’ by Dr. Cathal MacSwiney Brugha
UPDATE: On Tuesday, 15th September 2026, the Military Archives published 'Cathal Brugha Remembered', which was a collection of articles by the speakers and other researchers on Brugha's life.
You can download a digital copy of the publication here.
Lastly, a link to a video of the talks is below.
