An artist's impression of how the completed Shanes Castle would have looked had it not been burnt down. Reproduced by kind permission of Lord O'Neill


Welcome To The O'Neill Summer School
'Bringing People Together'

The Summer School Concept is popular in Ireland and the various Schools are known to attract an eclectic mix of people who would not normally have an opportunity to interact with each other but who are drawn together because of a shared interest in a particular subject.

Such gatherings are all the more remarkable and inspiring when they occur in Northern Ireland where, for many years, the community was so bitterly divided that mixed gatherings and discussions were avoided by very many people.

Using a neutral venue and introducing a range of highly regarded academics and a number of overseas participants with objective viewpoints has been shown to allow discussion of sensitive subjects to be facilitated without tension.

Nowhere has this been more successful than at The O’Neill Summer School and the underlying fundamental aim of the organisers of 'bringing people together’ has been fulfilled in a very rewarding way.