Dr Brendan Twomey Presents: Gulliver @ 300 - still relevant after all these years?

Join Jonathan Swift Scholar Dr Brendan Twomey for a talk at St Patrick's Hospital on Gulliver's Travels.

Gulliver's Travels or Travels into several remote nations of the world by Lemuel Gulliver, first a surgeon afterwards captain of several ships to give its full title, was first published in October 1726; 300 years ago. While the Travels purports to be the memoir of the adventures of one Lemuel Gulliver, in reality it is a profound satire on big themes such as politics, religion, war, colonialism, and the law. But it is much more; it is also an evergreen comic take on human foibles, stupidity and perversity; there is a joke in every paragraph. Gulliver's Travels was an instant hit and it has remained so ever since. The Travels have given us new universal words such as Lilliput and Yahoo and of course the iconic character of Gulliver himself.

Gulliver’s Travels was written in Dublin by Dr Jonathan Swift, the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral Dublin, and it has been published in more versions and in more languages, and it has certainly sold more copies, than any other book written by an Irish author. For 300 years the instantly recognizable image of Gulliver, whether tied down on the beach, conversing with the rational horses, or standing astride the Lilliputian army, has been an integral part of global visual culture.

Gulliver's image can be seen in thousands of books, paintings, movies, TV, plays and musicals, and also on mugs, keyrings, fridge magnets, bookmarks, coins, stamps, cards, airplanes, street names and here in Dublin on the wonderful set of terracotta roundels in Golden Lane.

This keynote talk will set the major comic set pieces and the big themes of Gulliver's Travels in the context of the life and times of its real author 'Dr Jonathan Swift' while also highlighting its quirky, satiric and comic take on life, and the continuing relevance of Gulliver’s Travels for our world.

After the event:

This event includes a short guided walk to view the exterior of the original St Patrick’s Hospital building. Following this, guests will be welcomed into the Board Room of St Patrick’s University Hospital to learn more about the building’s history and view a selection of notable Swift artefacts, including his writing desk and death mask.