Listening to C.S. Lewis's Irish Voice: Narnia Revisited

ISLAND VOICES 2025

Lunchtime Lecture Event

Listening to C.S. Lewis's Irish Voice: Narnia Revisited

With Dr Sharon Jones

Thursday 25 September 2025, 1pm

Green Room, Guildhall

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The 75th anniversary of The Chronicles of Narnia celebrates a remarkable series of books that continues to delight children of all ages, all across the world. Translated into multiple languages, adapted for television and the big screen, and now the subject of a much anticipated Netflix release, these enchanting stories have inspired generations of artists, writers and thinkers. C.S. Lewis, the imaginative giant who created Narnia, was an Ulsterman and considered himself Irish, through and through. He spent childhood holidays in Castlerock, and returned regularly to Ireland as an adult, honeymooning in Donegal. In this lecture Dr Jones argues that Lewis’s academic vocation as a medievalist afforded rich insights into Ireland’s story, and that his Ulster roots and Irish identity, at times overlooked, both inspired and informed his writing. 

About the speaker:

Sharon Jones grew up in Coleraine and lives and writes in County Antrim. She studied Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University and completed a doctorate in literature and theology at Ulster University. Sharon’s writing has featured in The Irish Times, Irish Studies Review, and Journal of Inklings Studies. Her poetry has been published in a variety of journals, and has been commissioned for live performances and BBC Radio 4. Sharon teaches at Stranmillis University College and is a member of New Irish Arts. In 2023 she was awarded an inaugural Fellowship of the Inklings Project, University of Notre Dame, for curriculum development on the life and work of C.S. Lewis.

Admission Free / Light refreshments provided from 12:30pm before each talk

To book your place: T: 028 71 376 579 or email languages@derrystrabane.com

View the full programme here: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/70746036/island-voices-2025-programme

Duration

Entrance Fee