Established in 2017, the Valentia Island Lecture Series has featured speakers from the worlds of academia, politics, diplomacy, commerce and technology underpinning the impacts that the birth of global communications, originating from Valentia Island in 1866, have made on every facet of modern society.   We are excited to announce an international panel of speakers which will include:

• Ms. Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, along with
• Mr Donie O’Sullivan, CNN Correspondent who will join RTE’s Katie Hannon in a fireside chat.
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The event will include a panel discussion on the topic “Globalisation in a post covid world “.

• Chairperson Prof Maggie Cusack, President MTU will be joined by
• Kevin Foley of Aquacomms,
• Sean Pairceir, of Brown Brothers Harriman
• and Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, Nancy Smyth
•  

This year we will again be hosting an online “link-up” with Hearts Content in Newfoundland Canada, in which political leaders from both sides of the Atlantic, including

• Education Minister Ms. Norma Foley and
• Minister Steve Crocker, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation from Newfoundland.
•  

Minister Steve Crocker will speak to the theme “ Regional Development Lessons Learned from the Edge of the Atlantic “.   This will be followed by a fireside chat with entrepreneurs from both sides of the Atlantic edge, chaired by Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland.  

Valentia Lecture “ Globalisation – Our Interconnected and interdependent World “

Connecting with Canada – “Regional Development – Lessons Learned from the Edge of the Atlantic”

The History of the Transatlantic Telegraph Cable

In 1858, Europe and North America were connected via the undersea transatlantic telegraph cable, that reduced communication times from weeks to minutes, in an achievement now considered the 19^th century equivalent of putting a man on the moon.  

The first message transmitted over the 3,000 kilometre cable was a note of congratulations from Queen Victoria to US President James Buchanan, sent from Valentia Island in County Kerry to Newfoundland, Canada.  

This was the first step and a permanent connection was established in July 1866 between Valentia and Hearts Content in Newfoundland. Instant communication was now a reality – and Valentia was at the centre of the revolution: a small island off the coast of Ireland became the point at which modern globalisation began.  

“Now, almost every considerable expanse of water will be traversed by the slender cords which bind continents and islands together and practically bring the human race into one great family “– American Scientific, 1870  

Communication technology has evolved rapidly since the first transatlantic message from Valentia in 1858 and continues to shape how we live, learn and work – particularly in a COVID-impacted world.  On Friday the 1^st of October, the 5th Valentia Lecture will be live streamed from the historic Cable Station at Valentia Island in bringing the Lecture online to an international audience.

The theme for the 5th Valentia Lecture

The theme of this year’s Lecture is Globalisation – Our Interconnected and Interdependent World

The first half of this  year’s Lecture will take place from 2-4.00pm on Oct 1st . We are excited to announce an international panel of speakers which will include Ms. Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, along with Mr Donie O Sullivan, CNN Correspondent who will join RTE’s Katie Hannon in a fireside chat. The event will include a panel discussion on the topic “ Globalisation in a post covid world “ . Chairperson Prof Maggie Cusack, President MTU  will be joined by Kevin Foley of Aquacomms,  Sean Pairceir, of Brown Brothers Harriman and Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, Nancy Smyth  

This year we will again be hosting an online “link-up” with Hearts Content in Newfoundland Canada, from 6.15 to 7.40pm  in which political leaders from both sides of the Atlantic, including Education Minister Ms. Norma Foley and Minister Steve Crocker,  Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation from Newfoundland will speak to the theme  “ Regional Development – Lessons Learned from the Edge of the Atlantic “. This will be followed by a fireside chat with entrepreneurs from both sides of the Atlantic edge, chaired by Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland.  

According to the chair of the Valentia Transatlantic Cable Foundation, Mr Leonard Hobbs, significant progress has been over the past year.

“We are continuing our efforts to pursue World Heritage status for the Transatlantic Cable ensemble at Valentia in partnership with Kerry County Council and the community at Valentia. Significant progress in the last year has included the establishment of a ‘broadband connection point’ at the Cable Station, the submission of our formal application to the Department Heritage for our inclusion to on the Irish tentative list for UNESCO, the completion of a detailed technical report on the global impact of the project, the completion of a ‘Cable Experience’ at the Cable Station, sponsored by Failte Ireland,  and the appointment of a conservation architect who has begun the detailed work of restoring the Cable Station “  

The newly appointed Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, Ms Nancy Smyth, said

“ that she was delighted to visit Valentia in South Kerry for the first time to take part in the 5th Valentia Lecture on globalisation. She encouraged the two communities at Valentia in Co Kerry and Hearts Content in Newfoundland, to continue their work together with the goal of pursuing a transnational application to UNESCO for heritage status for the ensemble of sites including the Cable Station at Valentia, which was the first of its kind in the world, and the Cable Station at Hearts Content which has previously been preserved into its original state. She expressed her hope that these two remote Atlantic communities which were once tied together by a 3000 km cable would continue to celebrate their common heritage and share learnings with a view to developing  their sustainable future ”   

Mr Shay Walsh, MD at BT Ireland said

“ BT is delighted to once again sponsor the Valentia Lecture on Globalisation. The global communications technology which was first deployed and subsequently developed at Valentia led to the establishment of global companies including BT which continue today to enhance the connectivity between people, communities and countries. The impact of this technology was never more evident than during the covid pandemic where businesses, services and families remained connected despite lock downs and travel restrictions “  

Event Video

https://youtu.be/4rtbX1D1c10