Aims and Mission:
The Klagenfurt Centre of Irish Studies (KCIS), which officially started on 17 January 2025 by joining the European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies (EFACIS), is a multidisciplinary centre within the body of the Department of English at the University of Klagenfurt. The aim of the Centre is to strengthen Irish Studies and to promote Irish literature and culture in the Alps-Adriatic region and within the European context through offering seminars at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, stimulating research in the field, organising guest lectures and conferences, and encouraging collaboration for further research on Irish Studies. The Centre also aims at providing a platform for the fostering of Irish culture and literature by organising events with the cooperation of Irish writers, artists and musicians. The Klagenfurt Centre of Irish Studies takes pride in developing these activities in the Austrian region where the original copy of the early 9th century manuscript of the Old Irish poem, “Pangur Bán”, is housed in the St. Paul Abbey Library (Stiftsbibliothek St. Paul), in Lavanttal, Carinthia (Kärnten).
Founding Members (alphabetical order, by surname):
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Werner Delanoy
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Nursen Gömceli
Prof. Dr. Allan James
Assoc. Prof. Dr. René Schallegger
Dr. Eva-Maria Trinkaus
Director and contact person:
Priv.- Doz. Dr. Nursen Gömceli
Left bottom, the page displaying the 9th century poem “Pangur Bán” (“Pangur the White”) in Old Irish, found in the Reichenauer Schulheft (Reichenau Primer) at ‘Stift St. Paul Library in Kärnten’. The poem is about an Irish scholar monk and his white cat, Pangur.
Source of Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangur_Bán#/media/File:Reichenauer_Schulheft_1v_2r_kl1.jpg
