THE West Cork History Festival celebrated its tenth year with record numbers at the Inish Beg Estate, near Baltimore, over the weekend.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin described it as the most successful event of its kind in the country, hailing it as an event where new thinking could be challenged in a respectful atmosphere.

The Taoiseach spoke of the hope he felt seeing cross-community engagement through music there, and of the need for continued evolution of foreign policy if Ireland’s commitment to supporting peace efforts in the world’s most difficult places was to be upheld.

The theme was boundaries: setting them and crossing them. Iain Dale and three contributors to his collection of biographies of the Taoisigh, Deirdre Foley (Liam Cosgrave), Gary Murphy (Charles Haughey), and Stephen Collins (Jack Lynch), discussed their Taoiseach and the development of the office, with the current Taoiseach an engaged audience member.

Micheál Martin also attended a discussion of the changing boundaries of warfare and sovereignty with Ben Tonra of UCD and Paddy McGuinness, former UK Deputy National Security Advisor.

Physical boundaries featured in Cormac Moore’s book on the Irish Boundary Commission and Lewis Baston’s look at European borderlands, while Alexander Morrison gave an overview of Russian empire-building in Central Asia.

Sam McBride and Mark Hennessy considered the definition of a united Ireland. Vice Admiral Mark Mellett gave a heartfelt account of the need to think sustainably about our oceans. There were also contributions from Myles Dungan, Elaine Farrell, Leanne McCormack, Sonja Tiernan, Leanne Calvert, Gabriel Cooney, Hester Grant and Adam Tomkins.

Organisers, Simon and Victoria Kingston, were delighted with the success of this year’s festival. They said they hope to build on it, if financial support to place it on a firmer footing can be found.