Seamus Deane

We are honoured and delighted to have the eminent academic and Booker prize nominee Seamus Deane with us on Friday 2nd March in Newry. An inspiring speaker, it is rare to have the opportunity to hear him publicly these days.

Seamus is currently Keough Professor of Irish Studies at the Keough Institute, Notre Dame. He has taught at Berkeley, Oregon, Indiana University UCD and Queens University, Belfast. He is also a member of the Royal Irish Academy and was a founding director of the Derry-based Field Day Theatre Company (1980 -1992). His several books include the novel Reading in Dark, A Short History of Irish Literature, Celtic Revivals: Essays in Modern Irish Literature, The French Revolution and Enlightenment in England and Strange Country: Modernity and Nationhood in Irish Writing since 1790. He also edited the monumental Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing in three volumes.

Finger food & refreshments will be available.

There is no admission charge. IAHIP members, pre-accredited associates and student associates are welcome to attend and bring a guest along with them to this evening.

A full AGM legal notice and brochure will be received by members, ahead of the AGM, by post.

The Conference is being opened by the President of Ireland, Mr Michael D Higgins, which is a signal honour to our profession, and it promises to be an exciting conference with interesting speakers from Ireland (some IAHIP members among them) and abroad covering a wide range of topics of significance and importance to psychotherapy practitioners.

Attendance at this Conference – apart from its value in CPD terms (!) – provides us with a really valuable occasion to meet and mingle with practitioners from other modalities and to demonstrate our commitment to the unity and development of our profession in Ireland.

While it is advisable to book in to the Conference in advance, bookings will be accepted on the day at the registration desk and can be for either the full two days or for one or other of them. Also, psychotherapy students who would be willing to help out at the Conference will be given attendance rights without charge. Anyone in a position to offer that service should let Jane or Penny know at the IAHIP office.

I do hope that, commensurate with our importance and influence in the psychotherapy profession, there will be a strong presence of IAHIP members, as there was at the excellent 1st National Conference in 2007, at the Conference next week.

A Happy New Year to you all,

Brían Howlett
Chair

Creating A Regional Structure

I have taken on this role of supporting regional development and I see that defining the regions is the most obvious beginning point. I am wondering if members are interested in gathering in the four provincial regions or as clusters of several counties? With so many members in the Dublin area, is there need for one separate or perhaps several Dublin regions? Once the regions have been established, it is my intention to engage in a process of consultation with members in order to develop a deeper awareness of members’ needs and concerns, find out what is happening throughout Ireland, and support the move towards whole-organisation dialogue and participation. I am interested in hearing from you. You can email me directly at regionalofficer@iahip.org

Bronagh Starrs

Its members are Pauline Dolan, Bronagh Starrs, and Dermod Moore. Please contact them at iahipinternet@iahip.org if you are a member and have some interest in the Internet – we’d love to talk to you!