Dublin Festival of History | Black History Month Lecture with Gary Younge

A public lecture and question and answer session with Gary Younge to launch Black History Month Dublin.

The title of the lecture will be After All They've Been Through You'd Think They Know Better: Why race is fluid; racism is solid and experience is not always the greatest teacher.

This event aims to honour and reflect on the histories, cultures and contributions of Black people globally, while fostering understanding, inclusion and cultural awareness within Irish society. It is organised by the Social Sciences Committee of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), in collaboration with the Unforgettable Women's Network. This event is also part of the Dublin Festival of History. The event will be moderated by Dr Ebun Joseph (University College Dublin). 

Gary Younge is an award-winning author, broadcaster and a Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester. Formerly editor-at-large at The Guardian, he has written seven books, most recently Pigeonholed: Creative Freedom as an Act of Resistance (Faber, 2025). Winner of the 2023 Orwell Prize for Journalism and the 2025 Robert. B. Silvers Prize for Journalism, he has written for the New York Review of Books, Granta, GQ and New Statesman, among others, and made radio and television documentaries on subjects ranging from gay marriage to Brexit. 

His fifth book, Another Day in the Death of America, won the J. Anthony Lukas Prize from Columbia School of Journalism and Nieman Foundation. 

Photograph by Cian Oba-Smith

Queries

If you have queries relating to this event, contact Martha Fitzgerald by email: m.fitzgerald@ria.ie

Access requirements

Have you got any access requirements that we can assist you with, so that you can fully engage with our event? Please let us know by contacting our access officer in advance of the event by email: accessofficer@ria.ie