The Center of Irish Studies in Cáceres (UEx) celebrated its opening ceremony on March 24th at 10 am (University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain). The Irish Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain, Mr. Frank Smyth, attended along with Dr. Orla Flynn, President of Athlantic Techonological University on behalf of the EUGREEN Alliance. The Vice-Chancellor for University Outreach, Dr Mª Teresa Terrón Reynolds, and other academic authorities such as Dr Katharina Rennhak, President of the European Federation of Associations and Centers of Irish Studies, Dr Pilar Villar Argáiz, President of the Spanish Association for Irish Studies also attended. As the hub of the European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies (EFACIS), the purpose of the center is to promote interdisciplinary research on the language, literature, history and culture of the island of Ireland and the Irish diaspora.
The center involves scholars specializing in Irish linguistic, literary, and cultural subjects such as Irish English (socio)linguistics and pragmatics, perceptual dialectology, fiction and the portrayal of Irish English voice and identity, gender studies and gender representation in fiction, Irish English historical linguistics, and emigrant letters, among other areas. The center, therefore, organizes events and activities to bring Irish culture closer to the Spanish academic and non-academic communities within the context of EFACIS and in partnership with members of the EUGREEN European Alliance, such as the Atlantic Technological Univeristy (Ireland) and the rest of EU GREEN partners with interest in Irish studies. The center is also open to collaborations with other researchers, artists, and associations interested in Irish studies in Europe, (Latin) America, and beyond. Information on these and other events may be found on the center’s website (https://ciscaceres.weebly.
