Lecture Series: Dr. Paul Shrimpton, ‘Newman’s ‘Campaign in Ireland’’
Paul Shrimpton (Magdalen College School, Oxford) will present two lectures on John Henry Newman’sMy Campaign in IrelandPart IandPart IIon Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th October:
Wednesday 25th October, 5.30-7.30pm: ‘The Academic and Pastoral Vision of the University’.
Location: Old Physics Theatre, Newman House (Museum of Literature Ireland), 86 St. Stephen’s Green, and online: https://ucd-ie.zoom.us/j/65721668553
Thursday 26th October, 5.30-7.30pm: ‘Frustration and ‘Failure’’.
This event is co-organised with the Notre Dame-Newman Centre for Faith and Reason.
Dr Paul Shrimpton read Mathematics at Balliol College, Oxford, and gained his doctorate in history of education at the Institute of Education, University of London. He currently teaches at Magdalen College School, Oxford. He has published A Catholic Eton? Newman’s Oratory School (2005), The ‘Making of men’: the Idea and reality of Newman’s university in Oxford and Dublin (2014), and Conscience before conformity: Hans and Sophie Scholl and the White Rose resistance in Nazi Germany (2018) (all published by Gracewing Press). He has also edited, annotated, and written new introductions to Newman’s two-volumeMy Campaign in Ireland(Gracewing Press).
My Campaign in Ireland, Part I brings together all the most important documents penned by Newman in his efforts to establish a Catholic university in Ireland. As founding rector, Newman was fully involved in every aspect of the university from 1854, when it opened, until 1858, when he resigned. The discourses he composed in 1852, to prepare for the university’s foundation, form the first half of The Idea of a University, Newman’s great classic work on education; but the foundational documents in My Campaign in Ireland, Part I demonstrate how he was able to turn theory into practice in adverse circumstances. Filling out Newman’s vision of education, they show how he should also be esteemed for his practical contribution to education.
My Campaign in Ireland, Part II represents Newman’s verdict on his frustrating years as founding Rector of the University. In describing the causes of his ‘campaign’s’ failure, he is not afraid to criticise those who shared responsibility with him, not least his co-founder Archbishop Cullen and even Pope Pius IX. These candid writings show Newman’s toughness and fairness in his dealings, and how his powers of diplomacy were stretched to the limit. Together with My Campaign, Part I, this volume makes essential reading for understanding what happened when Newman tried make his Idea of a University a reality.
To purchase either Volume, see the publisher’s website here.
