Our opening speaker on the Saturday morning of the 2018 Festival will be Professor John Horne. A specialist in twentieth century French and European history, he is a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin where he is Professor of Modern European History and Director of the Centre for War Studies, which he founded in 2007.

The title of his talk at the Festival is ‘The War to End All Wars? International Perspectives 1918 – 1923’. He comments that 'the one safe judgment about the First World War is that it unleashed forces far greater than contemporaries could resolve. This unfinished aspect of the conflict helps explain why violence generated by the war continued in many parts of the world beyond 1918. In effect, a 'greater war' continued until the early 1920s.' Horne's lecture will explore why this was so in Europe and the Middle East and will conclude with some brief reflections on the implications of the argument for Irish history.

After his talk, Professor Horne will be joined by Professor Eunan O'Halpin and Professor Louise Ryan for a panel discussion on 1918 and its consequences.