A gathering of conservative thinkers in County Roscommon has sparked fresh debate about the soul of modern Ireland, with prominent commentator Maria Steen declaring that the country is gripped by a deep and troubling ‘crisis of identity’.
The Percy French Summer School, held in the heart of the midlands, brought together some of Ireland’s most outspoken voices on the right to wrestle with questions that are increasingly dividing the nation. Religion, populism, and what it means to be Irish in the 21st century were all placed firmly under the microscope.
Steen, a barrister and well-known conservative commentator, did not mince her words. She argued that Ireland is struggling to define itself in an era of rapid social change, suggesting that the country has abandoned long-held values without finding anything meaningful to replace them. Her remarks landed with force in a room already primed for robust conversation.
John McGuirk, the outspoken media director of Gript Media and one of Ireland’s most prominent conservative commentators, was also among the speakers. His presence alongside Steen signalled the event’s clear ideological direction, drawing together voices who feel that mainstream Irish discourse has left them and their concerns behind.
The Percy French Summer School, named after the beloved Irish songwriter and poet who was born in Roscommon, has in recent years become a notable platform for conservative and traditional perspectives on Irish society. This year’s gathering leaned heavily into themes that have dominated right-leaning circles both in Ireland and internationally.
The question of religion featured prominently throughout the discussions. Ireland’s dramatic and well-documented shift away from Catholicism over recent decades has left a cultural vacuum that many conservatives believe has never been properly addressed. Speakers at the school appeared to argue that this vacuum is at the heart of the identity crisis Steen described, with secularisation moving faster than any new shared values could emerge to take its place.
Populism was another major theme on the agenda. The rise of populist movements across Europe and beyond has found echoes in Ireland, particularly around issues like immigration, housing, and distrust of political institutions. Speakers explored whether populism represents a genuine democratic revolt or a dangerous simplification of complex problems.
The timing of the event is significant. Ireland is navigating a period of profound transformation, with record levels of immigration, a housing crisis that shows no signs of easing, and ongoing debates about national culture and belonging. These pressures have fuelled tensions that politicians and commentators across the spectrum are struggling to address coherently.
For those gathered in Roscommon, the concern appears to be that Ireland’s political and cultural establishment is either unwilling or unable to engage honestly with these pressures. The sense among speakers was that ordinary Irish people are asking hard questions about identity and belonging, and receiving either silence or dismissal in return.
Steen’s framing of the situation as a ‘crisis’ is deliberately provocative, but it reflects a genuine anxiety that has been building in certain quarters of Irish society for years. The argument, broadly stated, is that Ireland has been so focused on shedding its past, particularly its Catholic and rural heritage, that it has lost a coherent sense of what it stands for today.
Critics of this perspective would argue that Ireland’s evolution represents progress rather than loss, and that a pluralist, diverse society is not a country without identity but one with a richer and more complex identity than before. That counter-argument, however, was unlikely to find much sympathy in the rooms of the Percy French Summer School.
What the event underlines is that the debate about Irish identity is far from settled. Whether one agrees with the speakers or not, the questions they are raising, about belonging, values, religion, and community, are ones that Irish society will need to grapple with seriously in the years ahead.
The Percy French Summer School may be a niche gathering, but the conversations happening within it are a reflection of wider tensions simmering just beneath the surface of Irish public life.