Professor Aileen Douglas to deliver Rokeby Lecture on 'Gulliver's Travels' at Armagh Robinson Library
The Rokeby Lecture, which marks the opening event of Armagh's Georgian Festival, is free to attend but advance booking is essential, with attendees able to secure a place by emailing [email protected] or telephoning 028 37523142.
The third and final lecture in the series highlighting the 300th anniversary of the publication of 'Gulliver’s Travels' by Jonathan Swift will also serve as the 2026 Rokeby Lecture.
The event is scheduled for Thursday, 26 November 2026, at 7:30 pm at the Armagh Robinson Library.
The guest speaker will be Aileen Douglas, Professor of Eighteenth-Century Studies at Trinity College Dublin. Professor Douglas has published extensively on eighteenth-century Irish writing—including the works of Jonathan Swift—and is a co-curator of the 'Gulliver at 300' exhibition currently running in the Long Room of Trinity College Library.
Her notable publications include Work in Hand: Script, Print, and Writing 1690-1840 (Oxford University Press, 2017) and a co-edition of Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield (Cambridge University Press, 2024).
Entitled 'Travels with Gulliver', Professor Douglas’s lecture will explore how readers have engaged with Swift’s imaginary remote lands over the past three centuries, offering a glimpse into how the masterpiece has travelled through countless versions, illustrations, and retellings, particularly as a work for children.
Reflecting on the text, Professor Douglas noted that Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World remains a sensation and the most famous work of fiction ever written in Ireland.
Since 2014, the Rokeby Lecture has traditionally marked the opening event of Armagh’s Georgian Festival. The name originates from Rokeby in the north of England, the family home of Archbishop Richard Robinson, the Library’s founder, whose affection for the name led to his creation as Baron Rokeby of Armagh in the Irish Peerage in 1777.
The Very Revd Shane Forster, Keeper of Armagh Robinson Library, expressed gratitude to partners including Queen’s University Belfast’s Centre for Eighteenth-Century Studies and the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, while extending best wishes to Emeritus Professor Brean Hammond and welcoming Professor Douglas to the event.
Admission to the Rokeby Lecture is free, though advance booking is essential. To secure a place, attendees can e-mail [email protected] or telephone 028 37523142.