November 2017
CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND
CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION IN NORTHERN IRELAND Latin student. The oldest contributors CANI’s public reading of the Iliad in were septuagenarians: my father was December 2016 proved so successful possibly the oldest reader of the day. that we immediately began plans for It was delightful to hear the timeless another: we read Homer’s Odyssey on story of Odysseus’ journey home Saturday, 17 June, in the Ulster from Troy told by participants of all Museum. The Museum has many ages and from a variety of diverse amazing spaces available for hire, but backgrounds, including school and the entrance foyer was perfect for our university students, teachers and reading, which took place during the lecturers, a retired journalist, a Museum’s opening hours: we doctor, a university administrator, commenced at 10am and concluded at civil servants – and we even approximately 4.30pm. persuaded one of the Museum guides We used Richmond Lattimore’s to read! verse translation and County Antrim The reading was brought to actor, Jimmy Kearney, started us off, a close by Dr John Curran at reading the famous first lines from approximately 4.30pm at book 23, book 1: Tell me, Muse, of the man of line 296: ...They then / Gladly went many ways, who was driven / far journeys, together to bed, and their old ritual. after he had sacked Troy’s sacred citadel. As before, we sought 36 reading slots of 10 minutes donations for charity. The Ulster each were available for hire and the Museum’s charity for 2017 is majority were allocated well in Macmillan Cancer Support, and advance of the event. A total of 34 CANI was glad to be able to donate readers participated, two of these £84.41 raised by Odyssey readers. remotely: Laura Jenkinson in Thanks go to all the CANI Portsmouth and Heather Parsons in team – Barry, Erin, John, Katerina, Tasmania. Laura, of Greek Myth Laura, Barry, Peter and Raoul – Comix fame and Clare at the Ulster Museum, (greekmythcomix.wordpress.com), for making the day such a success. also provided us with art activities for We are delighted with the exposure the young (and the young-at-heart!), that our public readings have including colouring-in sheets, cut-out brought CANI, and my mailing list Odysseus with clothes, and more relating has grown considerably. There is indeed an to the Odyssey. Both children and adults alike ever-growing audience in Northern Ireland for were active in the art corner, concentrating the events which CANI seeks to provide, and fiercely with the coloured markers, and were we aim to continue to heighten our public supervised by CANI stalwarts, Peter and Raoul. profile. Our next venture Like Odysseus, some of will be a reading of Virgil’s our readers journeyed over the Aeneid and we will be back sea: thanks to Mark McCahill CLICK TO WATCH in the McClay Library at for coming from Glasgow, and Laura Jenkinson read: Queen’s University Belfast Marco Palone, from Italy via on Thursday, 7 December, Edinburgh! Closer to home, we commencing at 10am. had participants who came to Donations from readers will Belfast from Dublin, Maynooth be sought for the Simon and Derry. We are grateful that Community NI. Contact me those readers made the trip (helenmcveigh@gmail.com) specifically to attend the to reserve a 10-minute reading. The youngest reader reading slot. on this occasion was Solomon https://youtu.be/6yZTGKdbE9c Trimble, a GCSE Greek and Helen McVeigh
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