An academic panel will examine the 1951 visit of former Fianna Fáil Taoiseach Éamon de Valera to Derry. Mary Delargy, who curated an exhibition on the visit, chairs the event.

Dr. Emmett O’Connor, senior lecturer in history at the University of Ulster, will discuss the situation in Ulster in 1951. Dr. Niall Comer, lecturer in Irish and past president of Conradh na Gaeilge, will look at the impact of the visit on the growth of the Irish language in the city.

De Valera visited Derry for Gaelic Week in July 1951. Crowds gathered in the Bogside area, streets were decorated with bunting, and the motorcade was escorted by local veterans from the revolutionary period.