CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND night was yours truly and my subject was ‘The Ships of the People, Triremes’. These were the workhorses of war for the Greeks and accounted for much of their success. Alas, no remains have been found but a few bronze rams have survived. There are plenty of depictions though, found on vase paintings and frescoes in Pompeii and the Palace of Sennacherib, Nineveh. The Cork branch is now gearing up for taking its annual stand at the Cork Adult Learning Exhibition, this year on August 31 and September 1 in the City Hall. We are also working on putting the Autumn programme in place and we are looking forward to a Classics Seminar taking place on Saturday, 24 September in UCC (more details can be found on the website). Thank you to all members and friends who supported us so faithfully during the year and to Dr David Woods of UCC for unfailing assistance. See you all back in October and please diarise Summer 2017 next to come to Cork, as we will be hosting the Summer School then. Start saving..! Jennifer O’Donoghue
Remembering Tanya and Ann During 2015, the Classical Association of Ireland lost two stalwart members and great friends with the deaths of Ann Buchanan in April and Tanya Blyth in December – Requiescant in Pace. They both trained as nurses in St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, and when they returned to Dublin they worked as midwives in the Rotunda Hospital. Ann’s family name was Shackleton and I remember her telling me about going on a Russian cruise ship to visit Tierra del Fuego, as this was as close as she could get to Antarctica, where her relative Ernest Shackleton went on exploration. She dropped a bouquet of flowers into the sea there. Accompanied by her niece, Tanya’s first CAI tour was in 1983 to Provence. She wore crisp white gloves and I remember thinking I wasn’t properly dressed at all! Ann came on the 1989 tour to Crete in springtime, where she loved the profusion of wild flowers - little blue irises, orchids, marguerites and pink and white rock roses, similar to those in The Burren. Ann and Tanya’s medical skills were called upon during the CAI tour to Syria when 8
July 2016
Ave atque vale We would like to express our sympathies to the husband and family of Dr Jennifer O’Reilly on her sudden passing away. Dr O’Reilly, from the History of Art Dept, UCC, spoke at the Cork Branch meeting in October. She also spoke at the last Summer School held in Cork in 2013. She was a world-renowned, highly published expert in the literature of conversion and pilgrimage, patristic and Insular biblical exegesis, the Book of Kells and the art of the Insular Gospel Books. She was all of the above and she was a wonderful speaker. Anyone who listened to her speak came away inspired and informed. Her departure is a great loss to her family and to academia at large. We are grateful that we knew her. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. (J. O’D) Spring Term opened with the sad news of the passing of one of Limerick Branch’s most distinguished members, former Chairman Cecil D’Arcy. Cecil, who was a very private person, seldom spoke about his past. He was a Classics graduate of UCD and once taught in Belvedere College. His widow, Rose, who is a member of our branch, is under continuing care in St Camillus’ Hospital, Limerick. This year’s CAI Summer School, to be held in Limerick, is named for our departed friend in memoriam. (TS)
a member of our party fell and broke her leg. They both came on the Millennium year tour to Jordan. When we would sit down for a break on a site, you might hear Ann call: “Tanya, ciggie!” and they would sit on a low wall nearby for a cigarette. On the second tour to Turkey, Tanya was my roommate and showed me a quick way to blow dry socks using the nozzle of a hairdryer! So many lovely memories of two very special people. God be good to them. Christine Shine