The Walls
Mary O'Malley (NUI Galway)
Abstract
A discussion on the role of the University in the life of its hinterland and some comments on the success or otherwise of that role. I will make reference to, and an outline my own experience as a Writer-in-Residence, the programme I designed for my residency and what I learned from that process, as well as a general assessment of how I felt the residency worked. I will briefly look at the terms: community, University and hinterland, and set the talk in the context of the last twenty years, with a particular emphasis on the role of the University in debates on the public good. I will note that there has been a resounding silence regarding the critical neglect of services to the community, and very little real contribution to political debate, and ask whether the culture that fosters such a silence is over. I will read 3 poems, one on the founding document of our state, one on acronyms and a more recent poem called 'The Lost Boys’.
