Ambassador Kevin Kelly along with Jane Ohlmeyer and students and faculty members of the Kohima College on December 3.
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Kohima, December 3 (MExN): Kohima College in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland in India hosted a landmark international public lecture titled “Ireland and the Empire”, with Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, one of Ireland’s most influential historians, and Kevin Kelly, ambassador of Ireland to India.
Principal Dr Vitsosie Vupru described the occasion as “a red-letter day”—the first time Kohima College has collaborated directly with a foreign nation. He highlighted the college’s growth from modest beginnings as a night college in 1969 to a thriving institution offering ten undergraduate departments and two postgraduate programmes, with a current enrolment of 1,908- the highest among Nagaland’s government colleges.
In his keynote remarks, Ambassador Kevin Kelly framed Ireland’s presence at Hornbill as part of a multi-layered engagement with Nagaland. Ireland’s cultural delegation includes the Irish band Bóinn, a theatre collaboration connected to the upcoming Joyce workshop, and “Danu”, a 16-foot Celtic goddess statue created by artists from Kolkata and Galway.
Kelly praised Naga civil society and leaders for their commitment to peaceful dialogue and unity across tribal and national borders. He noted that Ireland, too, grapples with the ongoing legacies of partition and complicated relations with the United Kingdom, especially in the post-Brexit era.
In her closing remarks, Dr Alinger emphasised that Irish and Indian histories are “entangled rather than isolated.” Professor Ohlmeyer expressed hope that this event marks the beginning of long-term partnerships in research, education and culture.
