Ireland is many-layered. One identity or experience is laminated atop another. The ancient text Lebor Gabála Érenn ("Book of the Takings of Ireland") details several successive invader peoples, not least the Fir Bolg, who were followed by the Tuatha Dé Danann, who were followed by the Milesians. Sydney Owenson's The Wild Irish Girl: A National Tale—published six years after the 1800 Act of Union—displays awareness of cultural layering. The "Girl" of the title belongs to an Irish family that an old native describes as "true Milesians, bred and born, every mother's soul of them." That individual continues: "O! not a drop of Strongbonean flowed in their Irish veins agrah!...The family flourished [with] an army of galloglasses at their back, until the Cromwellian wars broke out." One of "Cromwell's English generals" impoverished and embittered the family by seizing its lands; but by the end of the novel, a descendant of his has warmed to the Gaelic tongue and is the Wild Irish Girl's choice for husband. Sooner or later, layering occurs.

Today, Ireland's push for a "smart" and "green" economy is but the latest laminate to be applied to an island of multiple strata. As Ireland re-makes itself after red-letter peace accords and the demise of the Celtic Tiger, cultural and literary critics, historians, linguists, farmers, environmental activists, politicians, and representatives of many other professions are attempting to chart the future by identifying palimpsests of various kinds and closely reading them, ply by ply. Reading closely, listening carefully, and discussing vigorously and with respect are features to anticipate at the 2011 ACIS Southern Regional Conference. Warm Southern and Irish welcomes await you in gorgeous Savannah over the weekend of 17-19 February 2011, when we'll gather at the Hilton Garden Inn, a boutique establishment on Bay Street, deep within Savannah's historic core. Tybee Island and other lovely Georgia beaches are also within easy reach.

Our Conference overlaps the 19th Annual Savannah Irish Festival, an event with quality Irish musical and cultural offerings at the downtown Savannah Civic Center on Sa. 19 and Su. 20 February 2011: yet another excellent reason to visit Georgia's first city! In fact, the Conference's late-afternoon keynote addresses will take place in cooperation with the Savannah Irish Festival stages in the Civic Center, which is just two blocks from the Hilton Garden Inn. On Friday at 5:15 PM, we hear from Hon. Paul Gleeson, Ireland's Atlanta-based Consul General for the Southern United States. A graduate of Trinity College (University of Dublin) and the London School of Economics, Gleeson's prior diplomatic postings include the EU in Brussels, the OECD in Paris, and South Africa, with special responsibility for Zimbabwe. Immediately prior to establishing the Consulate General in Atlanta in 2010, he served as First Secretary with responsibility for North-South cooperation in the Anglo-Irish Division, Department of Foreign Affairs, Dublin. The 4:00 PM Saturday keynote features one of the legends of Irish and world music, Seán Ó Sé, along with his biographer, the Fulbright Scholar and Chair of Music at Wheaton College, Dr. Matthew Allen. Ó Sé's career is especially marked by his association with Ceoltóirí Chualann, the musical group credited with the restoration of much of the Irish song and tune tradition, not least the opus of Ireland's greatest composer for harp, Turlough O'Carolan ( 1670-1738). The instrumentalists with whom Ó Sé worked in Ceoltóirí Chualann included most of the individuals that would go on to become The Chieftains, the most influential and successful Irish traditional band ever.

The Conference is being hosted by the Center for Irish Studies, Georgia Southern University. We especially encourage proposals for papers and panels that address the Conference theme. However, proposals on any topic related to Irish and Irish diasporic studies are welcome. Presentations from a range of disciplines and in all languages of the island of Ireland are desired. Please submit your proposal by email to Rachel Cason no later than We. 26 January 2011. The address is irish@georgiasouthern.edu. The proposal should consist of the following two elements: (1) the text of the proposal proper, not to exceed 400 words; and (2) a biographical sketch for introduction purposes, not to exceed 125 words. It would be helpful if, in addition, you could indicate when on the Friday and/or Saturday of the Conference you are not available to present and whether you are prepared to chair a paper session. Rachel will acknowledge receipt of all proposals in a timely fashion. She is also happy to address Conference-related questions you may have.

The Hilton Garden Inn provides the principal meeting rooms for our Conference. Conference attendees should make their own arrangements for overnight accommodations in Savannah. The Conference has selected a preferred provider of accommodations: the AAA three-diamond-rated DoubleTree Hotel-Savannah Historic District, which adjoins the Hilton Garden Inn on Bay Street. The two hotels are sibling properties. The Conference has negotiated a discounted rate of $114 per room per night for Th. 17 and/or Fr. 18 and/or Sa. 19 at the DoubleTree Hotel so long as reservations are made on or prior to Su. 16 January 2011. The DoubleTree Hotel's telephone number is (912) 790-7000. Its address is 411 West Bay Street, Savannah, GA 31401. When making your reservation, please quote the phrase "ACIS-Savannah Irish Festival." The DoubleTree Hotel is a half-block from City Market; a half-block from the First African Baptist Church; one block from River Street; three blocks from Paula Deen's Lady and Sons' Restaurant; four blocks from the Telfair Museum of Art; seven blocks from the Juliette Gordon Low birthplace; seven blocks from the Roundhouse Railroad Museum; and ten blocks from the Andrew Low House.