The era of ‘the island of saints and scholars’ is no myth, but a dynamic period of Irish history, aspects of which will be discussed and analysed by leading scholars at an event in NUI, Galway.
NUI, Galway will host the third International Conference on the Science of Computus from Friday July 16 to Sunday 18.
Ireland at the time was a confident society. It was establishing colonies in Wales and Scotland, as well as monasteries and centres of learning across England, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Irishmen were also playing a leading role in philosophy, science, astronomy, and mathematics and Computus - the prediction of the date for Easter in any given year.
The NUIG conference will be looking at the Irish contribution to mathematics and computation in a series of lectures, talks, and book launches that will be taking place in the university’s Moore Institute that weekend.
The event is being organised by Prof Dáibhí Ó Cróinín of the NUIG history department, a noted expert in the area of medieval Ireland and early manuscripts.
“From the time of Columbanus, around AD 615, Irish scholars led Europe in the field of computistical studies,” he has said. “Even before then, Columbanus was a leader in Computus. He saw fit to write a strident letter to Pope Gregory the Great in AD 600, pointing out that Rome’s calculations for Easter were wrong, causing all of Europe to celebrate Easter on the wrong day.”
Those interested in attending the conference should go to www.foundationsirishculture.gaillimh.eu/ or contact NUIG on 091 - 524411 for more information.
