The Inaugural Lecture of the Charlotte Maxeke-Mary Robinson Research Chair stands as a testament to an exciting new collaboration between South Africa and Ireland. 

On 17 July 2023, Tánaiste Micheál Martin - Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defense - delivered the inaugural lecture at the University of the Western Cape’s Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) Greatmore Hub in Woodstock, Cape Town.
 

The Charlotte Maxeke-Mary Robinson Research Chair at the CHR, funded by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, inaugurates, through the humanities, a broader and reciprocal collaboration between Ireland and South Africa to engage the complex inheritance of colonialism, empire, partition and apartheid, and how to overcome this legacy.

The initial phase of the work of the Research Chair is bringing Irish scholars and artists to Southern Africa, hosted at the CHR. The Research Chair emerges from a longstanding collaboration, between the CHR and the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute (TLRH) at Trinity College Dublin, on colonialism, partition, postcoloniality and race. 

Professor Matete Madiba, Deputy-Vice Chancellor of Student Development and Support at UWC, welcomed delegates and highlighted the years of academic collaboration: “In 2022, Irish historian and the former head of the Irish Research Council, Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, offered a public lecture during her residency as visiting scholar at the CHR on ‘Brian Friel’s ‘Making History’ and Colonial Ireland.’ Professor Ohlmeyer’s lecture drew attention to the importance of aesthetic education in coming to terms with the legacies of colonialism, imperialism and partition in Ireland. This argument resonates with the CHR’s intervention in the making of a post-apartheid society.”

In delivering the inaugural lecture, Tánaiste Martin said: “I am particularly pleased that this Chair has been established in an institution like UWC known for its resistance to apartheid… Kader Asmal lectured (at UWC) when he returned from exile in Ireland, and I am privileged to honour his courage and achievements.” 

The Tánaiste’s lecture offered insights into the past hundred years of Irish independence. Of particular relevance, he described how “Ireland’s own post-colonial experience suggests that economic, social and political development is rarely a linear, even process.” 

[LISTEN] Tánaiste Micheál Martin LECTURE EXCERPT

Thirty years after independence, Ireland’s socio-economic transformation could be connected to the successive Irish government’s commitment to education, among other things. He noted the intertwined moments in Irish and South African colonial and more recent histories and focused on the significance of the anti-apartheid movement in Ireland as well as the role of South African figures. He credited President Cyril Ramaphosa in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement. The Tánaiste remarked on how “priceless” these moments have been.

The Tánaiste highlighted some key principles from Ireland’s modern history. The first has been the alignment between foreign policy and domestic values and interests. The second has been the “transformative impact of regional integration”, and finally, prioritising investment in education.

During a question and answer session, the Tánaiste shared valuable insights on coalition governments - drawing from past and recent experiences in Ireland. He identified several attributes that made coalitions work, including adaptability, pragmatism and consensus building. He said coalitions work when the government is put before the party interests.

The Tánaiste also said maturity and the setting aside of egos are equally important. He noted, too, that reconciliation is hard work and is an ongoing process.

Accompanying the inaugural lecture of the Charlotte Maxeke-Mary Robinson Research Chair was the unveiling of an exhibition featuring 25 years of the Good Friday Agreements between Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Great Britain.
 

All images courtesy Emma Minkley (Centre for Humanities Research)