Legal eagles ready to impress at first-ever Kilkenny Law Festival this weekend

Kilkenny is to welcome a host of expert speakers in areas of law, history and technology this weekend for the inaugural Kilkenny Law Festival.

The festival is the latest addition to the summer events calendar from Kilkenomics founder Naoise Nunn. It will feature a wide-ranging variety of talks and events offering insights into the law and how it affects society, from talks on censorship and the Trump administration’s assaults on justice, to fireside chats and podcasts with judges, to a discussion on a new Constitution for a United Ireland.

Other events include a screening of the documentary Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story by director Sinéad O’Shea, discussions mapping the future of legal tech and AI, and a debate on libel, defamation and the media.

Author Mark O’Connell will speak about the Malcolm McArthur murders, while journalist Nicola Tallant will present an episode of the hugely popular Crime World podcast.
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There will also be talks on the merger of An Garda Siochana and DMP 100 years ago, and a legal-eyed review of the Sunday newspapers, while musical comedian Paddy Cullivan will be performing his sell-out historical show about the murder of Wolfe Tone and its impact on the formation of Ireland.

“I’m really excited for our audience in Kilkenny to get a better insight into the law and how it operates and affects them,” said Festival Director and co-founder of Kilkenomics Naoise Nunn. “Just like Kilkenomics, which has been going for 15 years now, I have similar hopes and expectations that Kilkenny Law Festival will become an annual opportunity for people to get to grips with everyday legal issues and their impact on their lives — and have a lot of fun too.

“This is not a conference; more of an un-conference. We want people to have fun while they’re learning and understand that the conversations off stage are often as important as the ones onstage!
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“We’ve had a lot of support and engagement from the local community, with backing from the likes of Michael Lanigan, partner at PKHL solicitors and Kilkenny County Council.

Another of the festival founders, Mark Tottenham author and presenter of The Fifth Court podcast, said: “As a barrister in practice, I am aware of the myths and misunderstandings about the law. However, the law affects almost every part of our lives, whether we like it or not. The aim of the Kilkenny Law Festival is to shed light on some of the legal issues of interest to the attendees as well as to discuss shortcomings in the law in an informative and entertaining way.

“We are particularly lucky to have as speakers Marguerite Bolger, a High Court Judge from Kilkenny, as well as Alice Doyle, who sat on the Circuit Court in Kilkenny for well over a decade.

Enda Leahy, founder of digital startup Courts Data Solutions, which works with the UK Government to digitise legal data for public interest use-cases, said the idea was of a space involving world-class experts on stage with comedians, journalists, historians and commentators.

“It’s a great combination, aimed at making issues of law across the board, from history and society to emerging technologies, issues that might otherwise be arcane and inaccessible, into a fun and engaging event which anyone would be interested in,” he said. “And where better to do it? The finest little city in Ireland, with a long history of arts, education, and most importantly, craic!”

For more information and tickets, click here.