National Monuments Service
Annual Archaeology Conference 2026
Saturday 10 October 2026
Many of the sports and other activities we now consider hobbies have their roots in our past. Often their origins were not just for fun or a way to relax, they were a necessary craft, a means of finding subsistence, a way of honing an essential life skill. Games, then as now, could have an important social and even political aspect. This year’s conference aims to explore some of these activities, from hunting to handball, that represent skill sets and competition. It also asks what people in the past did for fun and looks at how using archaeology to learn from the past can be fun too.
The session themes for this year’s conference are: Cultural Games; Games and Game; Playing with the Past; and Leisure and Lifeways. The topics being covered will include textiles and experimental archaeology, archaeogaming, Aonach Tailteann (the Tailtean Games) and childhood in prehistory.
Our speakers include falconry expert Hilary White and award-winning archaeologist Dr Jim Leary, whose popular book Footmarks: a journey into our restless past looks at what is now a popular pastime—walking.
Edmund Burke Theatre, Trinity College, Dublin
In person and online
To book: CLICK HERE
The finalised programme will be posted soon.
Dr Grace O’Keeffe is the editor at Archaeology Ireland
Dr Grace O’Keeffe, a medieval historian based in Dublin, is the new editor of Archaeology Ireland. Grace took up the post in May 2023, succeeding previous editors Sharon Greene (2018–23), Tom Condit (1998–2017) and Gabriel Cooney (1987–97).
Grace is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin. Her degree in Single Honor History focused mostly on Irish and European medieval history, but also included early Irish Christianity and the Anglo-Saxons.
For more details click here
Archaeology Ireland provides a constant stream of articles, news and features, covering many areas in archaeology including science, art, architecture, history, geography, economics, sociology, anthropology, religion and more. This magazine offers readers a broad range of well-researched, lavishly illustrated articles on a range of topics at an accessible level to all, whether it’s a passing or professional interest. Archaeology Ireland is a key reference guide for students, visitors from abroad, those in the field, and all archaeology fans with an interest in Ireland’s archaeological wonders. The magazine was founded 1987 with among others, Gabriel Cooney, Claire Cotter, Nick Maxwell, Una MacConville and Emer Condit and it become one of Ireland’s key archaeological resource. To see the contents of the latest issue or buy a single issue click on the cover image above.
The editor is Grace O'Keeffe.
Each issue carries a detailed heritage guide of a major Irish archeological site (value €20 per annum). These guides are free to subscribers only. To purchase single copies of the latest one (Baltinglass Abbey in the 'Valley of Salvation') click on the image at left.
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Natonal Monuments Service 8th annual archaeology conference
A conference presented by Archaeology Ireland on behalf of the National Monuments Service examining socially and physically constructed partitions and the spaces they divide to offer insight into how they were used and what they meant to the people who used them.
(Recorded on Saturday 18 October 2025 at the Edmund Burke Theatre, Trinity College, Dublin)
To view recordings of all the papers click her
Supported by:
