ABSTRACT
Galway, on the western seaboard of Ireland, was an intriguing venue for such a conference: on the edge of Europe, during a referendum campaign on Maastricht that turned on a discussion of the rights of citizenship for Irish women, in a successful nation-state, formed out of anti-colonial struggle, with an unresolved ‘national question’ festering on its disputed border; in a thriving cultural centre that some would argue presents a challenge to the liberal metropolitans of Dublin. The remarkable hospitality of the conference organizers, combined with the unexpected brilliance of the weather, turned the four days into a festival, with fringe and social events at least as memorable as the conference business itself.
