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Many thanks go to Prof Barry Lewis of The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies for presenting the 2026 John V. Kelleher Lecture: "The poet in the medieval Welsh court: rereading Phylip Brydydd's encounter with the gofeirdd."  This paper will be published in the upcoming volume of The Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium.

The 23rd Kelleher Lecture is scheduled for October 7, 2027 and will feature Prof. Joseph Eska of Virginia Tech.

The John V. Kelleher Lecture commemorates each year the fondly-remembered Professor of Irish Studies, thanks to the John V. Kelleher Lecture Fund.

Join the Celtic Languages & Literatures Department’s bothántaíocht (a traditional custom of evening visits to neighbors' homes for stories, gossip, music) every other Thursday at Barker Center Café at 4pm! Starting 9/17. A relaxed environment to trade stories and play games in the Irish language with fellow Gaeilgeoirí on Harvard campus. We’ll br there to guide discussions on interesting topics &  help you build confidence in speaking cúpla focal. All levels of language learners are welcome to join.

Sponsored by the Department of Celtic Languages & Literatures

Thanks to all who helped make the 45th HCC a great success! Our next HCC is scheduled for October 10-12, 2027.

This three day colloquium has been operating since 1981. The graduate students of the Harvard Celtic Department organize and host the Annual Harvard Celtic Colloquium and publish selected papers in The Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium. The Colloquium attracts students and scholars from all over the world.

Heroes of the Gael: A History of Fionn and the Fianna by Professor Natasha Sumner

Stories about Fionn mac Cumhaill (also known as Finn McCool) and his roving warrior band, the Fianna, have engaged audiences for more than a millennium. Fionn and the Fianna—Gaeldom’s defenders during a legendary third-century golden age—are the heroes of the most prolific body of narrative in the Gaelic tradition, spanning 1,400 years of oral and written transmission, from the earliest extant records to the present day. 

Published by Princeton University Press

New perspectives on the rich and inventive storytelling of medieval Wales and Ireland.

Honoring the scholarship of Celtic expert and our Margaret Brooks Robinson Research Professor of Celtic Languages and Literatures Catherine McKenna, this collection moves beyond the familiar canon to examine the historical significance and evolving interpretations of medieval Celtic literature.  Published by University of Wales Press. Edited by Helen Fulton and Georgia  Henley