Participants from all over Ireland attended the fourth Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá’í Studies (ABS), Ireland, at the National Centre in Dublin on 24-25 January. The event was organised by Iarfhlaith Watson.
The Conference started at about noon on Saturday with some socialising and a light lunch. The first presentation by Gearoid Carey focused on the evolution of the human species during pre-recorded history, through the Neolithic Revolution some 10,000 years ago, to the emergence and maturity of civilisation in the modern era. This was followed by a review by Eamonn Moane of a book, Evolution and Bahá’í Belief (Kalimat Press, 2001), dealing with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s response to 19th-century Darwinism and the Bahá’í approach to the highly influential theory of evolution.
Following a tea break, Betsy Omidvaran spoke in detail on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s travels to Alexandria, Egypt, from 1910 to 1913. This was followed by a talk by Kevin Brogan on the Virgin Mary as portrayed in religion over the past two thousand years. Kevin set out the idea that Mary could be a reconciling figure between Christianity, Islam and the Bahá’í Faith.
After dinner, Edwin McCloughan read a selection of his poems, most of which concerned religious subjects in a diversity of styles. Sally Liya (née Villiers Stuart) then gave a presentation on the archetypal symbol of the tree as depicted in the world’s sacred Scriptures. The day concluded with a consultation on how to promote the ABS Irish journal, Solas, which so far has published the proceedings of three previous Bahá’í Studies Conferences.
Sunday began with a talk by Andrew Alexander on the significance of the Four Year Plan in the development of the Faith, drawing primarily on messages of the Universal House of Justice. Vincent Flannery followed with a talk, supported by photographs and art work, on Dr William Cormick, the part-Irish physician (his father came from County Tipperary) who treated the Bab at the time of one of His arrests and interrogations. The final session was given by Olive McKinley on the life of Hugh McKinley, Knight of Bahá’u’lláh and well-known Bahá’í poet.
In the afternoon there was a wide-ranging consultation on the future direction of Bahá’í Studies in Ireland.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable and informative weekend. It was very pleasing to have five new faces - Gearoid, Sally, Andrew, Vinnie and Olive - both attending and giving presentations. It is hoped that the Conference will be an impetus to the systematic development of Bahá’í Studies in this country and will encourage increasing numbers of Bahá’ís resident here to involve themselves in this stimulating and enriching activity of Bahá’í community life. The conference proceedings will be published in the fourth issue of Solas in the autumn.
BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE