Dive beneath the surface of mermaid lore, tracing their long histories and what they may reveal about wider society. Followed by Q&A.

Why are mermaids, water spirits and sea creatures so often female?

This talk uncovers the deep cultural currents behind mermaid lore: how they reflect society’s fears, desires, and ideas about gender, sexuality, and our relationship with nature. Like the oceans, rivers and lakes they inhabit, mermaids are at once alluring and threatening, monstrous yet divine. Join Dr Deidre Nuttall as she reveals how these timeless beings continue to mesmerise, provoke and illuminate what we think we know about ourselves.

Doors open at 7pm, talk starts at 7:30pm - come down early to grab a good seat!

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Dr Deirdre Nuttall is a folklorist/ethnologist who works in the fields of oral history, folk religion, and narrative. She has a Master’s in Social Anthropology with a specialisation in the Anthropology of Religion from the University of Durham and a PhD in folklore from University College Dublin with a focus on migratory legends of the supernatural. She has carried out field research in Ireland, Newfoundland and Guatemala. In 2020 her book, A Folk History of the Protestants of Independent Ireland (Eastwood), was one of the Irish Independent’s Books of the Year. Other recent publications include Swimming Upstream: One Man’s Fight to Save the Atlantic Wild Salmon, co-authored with Patsy Peril (O’Brien) and A People’s History of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown (Eastwood).

Deirdre is also a writer, ghostwriter and book doctor with experience and expertise across a wide range of non-fiction disciplines, particularly memoir and biography.

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This talk is 18+

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