August 2016 NUI Galway Feature at Kennedy Summer School

The Kennedy Summer School, a festival of Irish and American history, culture and politics, will be held in New Ross, Co. Wexford from 8-10 September and will have a distinct NUI Galway flavour in the midst of a hotly contested US presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

The summer school’s guest of honour and featured speaker will be a 2008 honorary graduate of NUI Galway, former Governor of Maryland and Mayor of Baltimore, Martin O’Malley. Governor O’Malley has strong Galway roots and still has a number of cousins living in Connemara. He will deliver the Edward M. Kennedy Memorial Lecture on Friday, 9 September, entitled ‘Supported by her exiled children: Ireland and America, 1916-2016’.

Also speaking will be Larry Donnelly, a Lecturer and Director of Clinical Legal Education in NUI Galway’s School of Law and a regular media contributor on American and Irish politics, current affairs and law. He will give a presentation outlining the Electoral College map and the respective paths to the White House for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, as well as considering what impact the 2016 election will have on American politics in the longer term.

Noel Whelan, Director of the Kennedy Summer School, a barrister and a columnist with The Irish Times, said: “This unique presidential election campaign provides an interesting backdrop for an examination of the Kennedy legacy, the American presidency and what might lie ahead in a time of political uncertainty and upheaval across the western world.

“We are delighted to welcome Governor O’Malley to New Ross to hear his insights on the extraordinary relationship between our two countries and the current political landscape. We also are happy to have Larry Donnelly again to expand upon some of the analysis of the Clinton vs. Trump matchup he has provided in the media recently. And on Saturday afternoon of the summer school, both will join Tad Devine, chief strategist of Senator Bernie Sanders’ remarkable bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen and others for what we believe will be a fascinating panel discussion on this year’s election.”

More information about the Kennedy Summer School is available at www.kennedysummerschool.ie.

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