Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

"Good Friday Agreement" Commemoration:
Honoring the cornerstone of Ireland's peace and stability
April 19, 2018 | 7:30 p.m.

  • On Thursday, Apr. 19, 2018, over 100 guests from the the Los Angeles Irish community joined the LMU Irish Studies Program to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. A panel discussion featuring select speakers from Ireland was moderated by Dermot Ryan, LMU professor of English and scholar of British and Irish literature.

    audience shot from Good Friday Agreement Commemoration 2018

    Distinguished speakers included:

    Claire Hanna
    Member of the Legislative Assembly for South Belfast and Social Democratic and Labour Party Spokesperson on Brexit and Finance

    Conor Houston
    Director of the Centre for Democracy & Peace Building in Belfast, Northern Ireland

    Finbar Hill
    Honorary Consul General Emeritus of Ireland

    Finbar Hill and KJ Peters shake hands after Good Friday Agreement Commemoration 2018

  • Speakers

    Claire Hanna headshot 150x200
    Claire Hanna
    MLA for South Belfast and SDLP spokesperson on Brexit and Finance

    Claire has been MLA for South Belfast since July 2015, having previously served as a Belfast Councillor, first elected in 2011. She is the SDLP spokesperson on Brexit and Finance; and deputy chair of the Assembly Finance Committee, having previously served on the Public Accounts and Environment Committees.

    As a City Councillor Claire brought the motion that led to Belfast becoming the first Living Wage council in Ireland, paying a fair wage to all employees. She has also campaigned for City Deals for Northern Ireland and before the Assembly was dissolved this year, had been working on a private member’s bill that would offer legal protection for mothers and babies breastfeeding in public places.

    Conor Houston
    Director of the Centre for Democracy & Peace Building in Belfast, Northern Ireland

    Before becoming programme director, Conor was a consultant with the CDPB, leading on its EU Debate NI Programme. As a solicitor advocate, he represented clients to the Supreme Court of both the UK and Ireland and was involved in many high profile and pioneering cases. He also represented the legal profession on the Executive Board of the European Young Bar Association and on the Council of the Law Society of Northern Ireland.

    Conor is a Fellow of the US State Department Rule of Law Programme, Fellow of the British Council Hammamet Conference and was UK National Leader at the Ship for World Young Leaders Conference in Japan. He is currently the inaugural Chairman of the Ireland Funds Young Leaders Belfast chapter and the Governor of the Irish Times Trust.

    150x200
    Finbar Hill
    Honorary Consul General Emeritus of Ireland

    M. Finbar Hill served as the Honorary Consul General of Ireland from 2000-2017. He was also the Chief of Protocol for the Los Angeles Corps from 2003-2016. In addition to the many professional positions he has held, he has been awarded Irish Man of the Year (1993), the Leadership Award for Alumni and Friends of University College Cork, and an Honorary Degree from the National University of Ireland. 

    Dermot Ryan
    Associate Professor of English

    Dermot Ryan's research focuses on British and Irish literature of the long eighteenth century with a particular emphasis on print culture and postcolonial theory. He is the author of Technologies of Empire: Writing, Imagination, and the Making of Imperial Networks, 1750-1820 (University of Delaware Press, 2013). He has published articles on literature and empire in Studies in Romanticism, Eighteenth-Century Studies, and Études Irlandaises, as well as on the romantic lineages of Karl Marx in SubStance: A Review of Theory and Literary Criticism. In addition, he has co-authored (with Casey Shoop) an essay on David Mitchell’s novel, Cloud Atlas and has an article on Marx and translation forthcoming in Boundary 2.

  • Program

    stack of IRST Good Friday Agreement Commemoration programs 1000w x 650h

    Opening Remarks | 7:30 p.m.

    K.J. Peters, Associate Professor of English
    Director of Irish Studies
    Loyola Marymount University

    Introduction

    Dermot Ryan, Associate Professor of English
    Loyola Marymount University

    Moderated Panel

    Claire Hanna
    Member of the Legislative Assembly
    for South Belfast and Social Democratic
    and Labour Party Spokesperson on Brexit
    and Finance

    Conor Houston
    Director of the Centre for
    Democracy & Peace Building
    Belfast, Northern Ireland

    Finbar Hill
    Honorary Consul General Emeritus of Ireland

    Discussion and Q&A

    Closing Remarks | 9 p.m.

    Reception

  • Event Photo Gallery

    KJ and a guest having a conversation before the start of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    Claire and a guest enjoying a conversation before the the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    Claire and Conor laughing at the reception before the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    Claire, Finbar, and Dermot during the panel discussion of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    Conor at the podium during the the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    A man in the audience asking a question at the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    A group of 4 LMU students at the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    Little girl with program and treats during the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    Jennifer Ramos and other faculty converse with a guest during the Agreement reception

    3 men at the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    Conor speaks with 2 gentlemen during the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    KJ Peters with a student and a man at the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    2 guests in conversation during the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    3 guests enjoying the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    Students and Faculty at the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    Conor and a gentleman holding the Loyolan at the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    KJ Peters and a group of men during the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    4 guests enjoy the reception of the the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    Claire and Conor pose with two guests at the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration

    KJ Peters and Dermot Ryan pose at the reception of the 2018 Good Friday Agreement Commemoration