A sharp and provocative debate about the soul of modern Ireland unfolded at the Percy French Summer School in Roscommon, where commentator and barrister Maria Steen delivered a striking warning that the country is gripped by a deepening crisis of identity.
Steen, a prominent conservative voice in Irish public life, told attendees that Ireland is struggling to define what it stands for in an era of rapid social, cultural and demographic change. Her remarks set the tone for a wider conversation that drew in questions of religion, national character and the rise of populist politics.
The summer school, held in County Roscommon and named after the beloved Irish poet and songwriter Percy French, has become an annual gathering point for those interested in Irish culture, history and current affairs. This year’s event took on a particularly charged atmosphere as speakers tackled some of the most contested questions facing Irish society today.
John McGuirk, a well-known political commentator and campaigner, joined Steen among the speakers, adding further firepower to debates that touched on the direction of the country and the forces reshaping it. Both figures are known for their willingness to challenge mainstream narratives, and the Roscommon audience was treated to a frank exchange of views rarely heard in more polished media settings.
At the heart of the discussion was a question that has been quietly building in Irish public life for years: what does it mean to be Irish in the twenty-first century? Steen argued that Ireland has drifted from the values and traditions that once gave it a coherent sense of self, and that this drift has left a vacuum being filled by competing and often imported ideologies.
Religion featured prominently in the conversation. Ireland’s relationship with Catholicism has undergone a seismic transformation over recent decades, with Mass attendance falling sharply and the institutional Church losing much of its former authority following a series of devastating scandals. Speakers at the event grappled with what, if anything, has replaced the moral and cultural framework that faith once provided for Irish society.
The theme of populism also loomed large. Across Europe and beyond, established political parties are facing challenges from movements that claim to speak for ordinary people against out-of-touch elites. Ireland has not been immune to this trend, with recent years seeing growing discontent over issues including housing, immigration and the pace of social change. Speakers debated whether Irish populism represents a genuine grassroots response to legitimate grievances or a more troubling phenomenon imported from abroad.
Steen’s identity crisis argument resonated with many in attendance who feel that public debate in Ireland has become increasingly narrow, with certain perspectives marginalised or dismissed without serious engagement. She suggested that a healthy national identity requires honest conversation about difficult topics, including ones that make the political and media establishment uncomfortable.
Critics of this viewpoint would argue that Ireland’s evolving identity reflects a natural and positive process of modernisation, one that has brought greater equality and openness to a society that was for too long defined by rigid hierarchies and exclusions. The tension between these two visions of Ireland, one rooted in continuity and tradition, the other in progress and transformation, shows no sign of resolution.
What the Percy French Summer School demonstrated is that there is a genuine appetite in Ireland for serious, unscripted debate about these questions. Away from the carefully managed messaging of political parties and the constraints of mainstream broadcasting, events like this one offer a space where ideas can be tested and challenged.
The Percy French Summer School continues to honour its namesake’s legacy of wit, creativity and engagement with Irish life. French, who lived from 1854 to 1920, captured the rhythms and contradictions of Irish existence in songs and poems that remain beloved to this day. It is perhaps fitting that a gathering in his name should wrestle with the enduring question of what Ireland truly is and where it is headed.
As the debates in Roscommon made clear, that question is far from settled.