- The Iona Institute - https://ionainstitute.ie -

‘Faith in the Public Square’

Inaugural Conference of

The Iona Institute Northern Ireland

The Iona Institute is pleased to announce the inaugural event of our Northern Ireland office.  The topic of the conference will be ‘Faith in the Public Square’. The keynote speaker will the Archbishop Eamon Martin. The conference will be opened by Alban Maginness, and will also be addressed by Baroness Nuala O’Loan, and Tracy Harkin and David Quinn, both of The Iona Institute.

Timetable

9.30                        Registration tea/coffee

10.15                     Alban Maginness – Welcome

10.30                     KEYNOTE ADDRESS–

Archbishop Eamon Martin – Archbishop of Armagh & primate of all Ireland.                                        ‘The importance of speaking out in the public square’

11.00                     Questions

11.15                     Break

11.30                     Baroness Nuala O’Loan: ‘The role of faith schools in a pluralist society’.

12.00                     Questions

12.15                     Tracy Harkin: ‘Communicating the right to life’

12.45                     Questions

13.00                     David Quinn: Concluding remarks.

To register: Please email info@ionainstitute.ie [1] or phone 00 353 1 661 9204

 

Speaker biographies

Eamon Martin is the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. He went to St Patrick’s Primary School and St Columb’s College, Derry He proceeded to study for the priesthood at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. His postgraduate studies were at Queen’s University Belfast, the Institute of Education in London and the University of Cambridge. He succeeded Cardinal Seán Brady as Archbishop of Armagh on 8 September 2014. He is Chairman of the Irish Episcopal Conference.

Alban Maginness was educated in St Malachy’s, Belfast and the University of Ulster at Coleraine. Maginness became increasingly involved in politics and became a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in 1972. He was first elected as a member of Belfast City Council in 1985. In 1997 Alban was elected as the first Nationalist Lord Mayor in the history of Belfast and throughout his year in office pioneered a spirit of partnership politics on Belfast City Council. He was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 to 2016.

Baroness Nuala O’Loan is an internationally-respected public servant and was the first Police Ombudsman in the North from 2000-2007. A native of Hertfordshire, she is a qualified solicitor and a former law lecturer. In 2007 she was made Dame Commander of the British Empire and in 2009 she was appointed to the British House of Lords as Baroness O’Loan of Kirkinriola in Co. Antrim. She is Chair of the Governing Authority of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and a much sought after speaker.

Tracy Harkin is the head of The Iona Institute, Northern Ireland.  She was educated at Assumption Grammar school in Co Down and is a graduate of Queens university Belfast. (BSSC sociology/social policy)

Formerly she worked in the field of community Development with The Traveller community in Belfast and also as Community Development Officer in Newtownabbey borough. She has advocated for better services and awareness for babies diagnosed with life limiting conditions in Ireland and has spoken at the United Nations in Geneva.

She is known for her pro-life advocacy and has previously appeared in the media on behalf of Every Life Counts.

David Quinn is Director and Founder of The Iona Institute. A religious and social affairs commentator, he is also a columnist with The Irish Independent and The Irish Catholic. He appears regularly on radio and TV.

ENDS