Robert Boyle Summer School

The RB Summer & Winter Schools are highlights of my year, every year. The range of topics is always interesting. As a non-scientist, non-historian who loves to think, enquire & learn, the RB Schools provide a wonderful opportunity to learn from top-class thinkers & educators. Thank you CALMAST for these bi-annual intellectual treats.

Clodagh, Dublin
RBWS 2026

Would you like to learn more about the Irishman who brought law and order to world science and chemistry? Then come to the Robert Boyle Schools next outing.

Anonymous comment
RBSS 2025

The Robert Boyle summer school is always well planned and thought provoking, but what I really love about it is the close connection between audience and speakers, making it a warm and inclusive event.  It is, simply, fun, as well as being intellectually stimulating.

Anonymous comment
RBSS 2025

An unforgettable day for curious and creative minds. For me the highlights of this blissful day of learning and creation was the anatomy lesson by Professor Una Sealy and the botanical watercolour workshop by Gooee O’Brien. The sensory experience of lush Lismore Castle Gardens took this event to the next level. Definitely going again next year! 🙂

Anna, Waterford
RBSS 2024

I absolutely loved the Saturday and Sunday of the summer school – and wish I could have made it to the earlier sessions.

I particularly enjoyed the blending of science and art, presenting science to us not as world of its own but as part of the the world around it.

Tom
RBSS 2024

Wonderful opportunities for anyone, scientist or layperson, to learn about science, including history of science, current issues in science and topics related to science and society. I so enjoyed the events I have attended.

Liam, Galway
RBSS 2020

Speakers
Programme
Booking
What to do in Waterford
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2026 theme – Mind and Matter

In addition to the talks and discussions, the weekend features an array of entertainment, social gatherings and a delightful garden party in the stunning surrounds of Lismore Castle Gardens.

Book a session, a day or the whole Summer School. Thanks to supporters we manage to keep ticket price at €110 for the whole summer school. See all ticket prices on Eventbrite: RBSS26.eventbrite.ie - The Lismore Heritage Centre accepts telephone bookings. Call them on (058) 54975.

Speakers

Amongst our list of speakers, we have Regius Prof. Rose Anne Kenny of Trinity College and director of TILDA the Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging; Prof. William Eaton from the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Georgia Southern University; Dr Emma Farrell from the Department of Psychology at Maynooth University; Prof Mark O. Cunningham, Institute of Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin; Prof Luke Gibbons former professor of Literary and Cultural Studies, Maynooth University; Dr Jennifer O'Mahoney Lecturer in Forensic Psychology SETU; Dr Lorraine Bowman-Grieve, Lecturer in Forensic Psychology, SETU, Waterford Arts Officer, Margaret Organ with poets Jackie Gorman and Clodagh Beresford Dunne. See below for dates and times.

Prof. William Eaton
Prof. Mark Cunningham
Dr. Emma Farrell
Prof. Luke Gibbons
Margaret Organ
Jackie Gorman
Clodagh Beresford Dunne
Prof. Rose Anne Kenny
Dr. Lorraine Bowman-Grieve
Dr. Jennifer O'Mahoney

2026 Summer School Programme

Please note that the programme is subject to change.

TimeThursday 4th June - Waterford City Hall
Opening Night Event
7 pmOur Fascination with True Crime and Serial Killers
Dr Lorraine Bowman-Grieve and Dr Jennifer O’Mahoney
TimeFriday 5th June - Waterford City Hall
Summer School Day 1
10:30 am


11:30 am		Morning Session
Welcome and Introduction
Eoin Gill

Boyle's Theory of Mind
Dr Bill Eaton
12:30 - 2 pm Lunch Break (Lunch not provided)
2 pm



3 pm




6 - 8 pm		Afternoon Session
Mind, Matter and Malfunction - What Epilepsy Reveals About Consciousness, Neural Dynamics, and the Fragility of the Self
Prof. Mark Cunningham

Mind in Society: Joyce, Vygotsky, and Inner Speech
Prof. Luke Gibbons


Evening Session - Waterford Treasures: Medieval Museum Vaults
Poetry and the Mind
Waterford Arts Officer Margaret Organ in conversation with poets Jackie Gorman and Clodagh Beresford Dunne
TimeSaturday 6th June - Lismore Heritage Centre
Summer School Day 2
11 am



12 pm		Morning Session
Future of the Mind in a World of Social Media and AI
Dr Emma Farrell

The Legacy of Robert Boyle
Eoin Gill and Dr Sheila Donegan
12:45 - 2:15 pmLunch (Lunch not provided)

2:15 pm


3:15 pm		Afternoon Session
The Ageing Mind
Prof. Rose Anne Kenny

Panel Discussion
5 pmGuided Tour - Lismore Castle Upper Gardens
A guided tour of Ireland's best preserved Jacobean gardens
6 pmGarden Party - Lismore Castle Gardens
Coach Transfer: depart Waterford for Lismore | depart Lismore to Waterford
TimeSunday 7th June - Waterford City
12 pmGuided Tour of the Waterford Gallery of Art
Priority given to the full summer school attendees

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This event is organised by CALMAST, South East Technological University’s STEM Engagement Centre in partnership with Lismore Heritage Centre, with support from Waterford City and County Council, local industry and Lismore Castle Estates. 

Previous Programmes

Click on the title to see the programme of the previous summer schools.