Our next lecture will take place on Wednesday February 17th at 7.00pm in the Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2. (PLEASE NOTE EARLIER TIME SLOT FOR THIS EVENT). The speaker will be Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland. Colm will outline the broad range of work conducted by Amnesty and will illustrate some issues of particular concern in an Irish context. Further details regarding this event will be posted over the next couple of days.

We have been contacted by Rebecca O’Neill to inform us of a new venture in Dublin, “Irish Skeptics in the pub”. Skeptics in the pub has been running at a number of locations in the UK for some time and the new Irish group will have its first informal meeting on Saturday February 6th at 6.00pm in the Lord Edward pub near Christ Church. Their website details are: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=204710146647. It’s great to see a new skeptics endeavour under way and we wish them well.

Paul O’Donoghue.

Our next lecture will take place on Tuesday November 10th at 8.00pm in the Aston Suite, Alexander Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2 (around the corner from the Davenport). We are delighted to welcome David McWilliams who will address the above topic. Admission as usual is €3 for members and concessions; €6 for non-members.

David will be well known to many of you. He has worked in the Central Bank of Ireland, UBS Bank and Banque Nationale de Paris. He is a popular journalist, broadcaster and documentary maker and has published two books, “The pope’s children” and “The generation game”. His third book, “Follow the money” is published today (October 30th). His latest documentary “Addicted to money” has just finished its run on RTE and will be shown in Australia next month. More information is available on his website at www.davidmcwilliams.ie.

Given David’s popularity, we advise you arrive early on the night.

Paul O’Donoghue.

We are delighted to announce the above lecture which will be hosted by the Irish Skeptics Society in conjunction with Maths Week Ireland. The lecture will take place in the Aston Suite, Alexander Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2. (Around the corner from our usual venue, the Davenport) at 8.00pm on Wednesday October 14th next. Admission for all will be at the special rate of €3.

The speaker is Matt Parker who is best described as a stand up mathematician who does everything in his power to make more people excited about mathematics. He is a regular compere for the London Skeptics in the Pub meetings and is also involved with the charity “Sense About Science” and Simon Singh’s campaign against stupid equations.

We look forward to seeing you there.

We will soon announce details of our November lecture which will be given by the inimitable David McWilliams who will cast a skeptical eye over current economic issues.

Paul O’Donoghue.

Due to circumstances beyond our control we have had to postpone our planned September lecture. The next lecture will take place in November and details will be published here in the near future.

Hopefully we will meet some of you at the TAM event in London in early October.

Paul O’Donoghue.

Our next lecture willtake place on Wednesday June 10th at 8.00pm in the Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2.

Nigel Monaghan, Geologist and keeper of the Natural History Museum will present on the above topic. Nigel has kindly sent us the following abstract:

The collection of bones of ice age mammals in the National Museum of Ireland reveal a great deal about the last 40,000 years. Climate changed in cycles as did the animals that inhabited the changing landscapes. For well over a century there has been evidence of the presence of woolly mammoths, giant deer and even spotted hyenas in our ice age faunas. Radiocarbon dating has been used to put these ancient faunas in context. Recent work using new techniques has allowed these bones to be examined for DNA, showing patterns of family relationships. New studies on our modern faunas are beginning to identify native animals from those introduced by our ancestors. Even today new animals are arriving, with as yet unknown impacts on our environment.

Admission is €3 for members and concessions and €6 for nonmembers.

Paul O’Donoghue.

The next lecture in our series will take place on Wednesday June 10th in the Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2 at 8.00pm. The speaker is Nigel Monaghan, keeper of the Natural History Museum. In keeping with previous Darwinian themes, he will present on “Ice age mammals: tales of extinction and survival”.

Full details will be posted next week.

Paul O’Donoghue.

The next lecture in our series will take place on Wednesday April 8th at 8.00pm in the Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2. The speaker is Professor John Sweeney from the Department of Geography, NUI Maynooth. Professor Sweeney has sent us the following abstract:

Despite an overwhelming scientific consensus regarding the human contribution to recent climate change, a significant sceptical community still exists. This talk will examine the basis for sceptical views and briefly examine the backgrounds of its adherents. The nature of global climate change will be discussed, together with techniques for downscaling global perspectives to an Irish scale. The impacts of climate change on various aspects of the Irish environment will be examined with a view to identifying where, when and by how much various sectors will be affected. Mitigation and adaptation strategies will be outlined in the context of national and international efforts to address what is likely to be the major problem facing humankind this coming century.

Admission: €3 for members and concessions. €6 for non-members.

The next ISS lecture will take place in the Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square on Wednesday April 8th at 8pm. Please note the change of date from the previous, preliminary notice.

Professor John Sweeney, Dept of Geography, Maynooth, will address us on the topic of assessing and responding to climate change in Ireland. Further details will be posted during the next few days.

Paul O’Donoghue.

February 12th next marks the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin. We celebrate the occasion on the eve of the anniversary with a presentation by Professor Tom Hayden, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin. The title of professor Hayden’s lecture is “Charles Darwin and the Origin of Humans”.

The lecture will take place at 8.00pm on Wednesday February 11th in the Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2. Admission for members is €3 and for guests, €6.

This presentation will review the early life of Charles Darwin and the circumstances that brought him to his theory of evolution by natural selection. His views on the origin of humans will be considered particularly in the light of the evidence available to him. Finally the rapid accumulation of palaeontological and genetic evidence since Darwin’s death and how it has shaped our current ideas on the origin and affinities of humans will be outlined.

We look forward to an enlightening and uplifting evening in contrast to the current economic doom and gloom and inclement weather. We hope to see many of you there.

Paul O’Donoghue.

Upcoming events in our lecture series are as follows:

Wednesday February 11th. Professor Tom Hayden,UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, will address us on the topic of Charles Darwin and Human Evolution. We are very pleased to host this lecture on the eve of Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday. The lecture will be held at 8.00pm in the Davenport Hotel, Merrion Sq., Dublin 2. Full details will be posted next week.

Wednesday April 1st. Professor John Sweeney, Department of Geography, NUI Maynooth, will address us on the topic of assessing and responding to climate change in Ireland. This lecture will take place in the same venue.

Wednesday June 10th. Geologist and Keeper of the Natural History Museum, Nigel Monaghan, will address us on the topic of ice age mammals, tales of survival and extinction. This lecture is in keeping with a broad Darwinian theme to which we will return during the remainder of 2009 and will also take place in the Davenport hotel.

The topics outlined above constitute working titles and full details and abstracts will be posted closer to the time of each presentation.

Paul O’Donoghue.