About this Event
The Trinity Long Room Hub is delighted to welcome the President of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, Dame Louise Richardson, to present the 2026 Edmund Burke Lecture, which is supported by a generous endowment in honour of Padraic Fallon by his family.
Libraries around the world are fighting for their existence. Whether targeted by bombs in Ukraine, funding cuts in Britain, or book bans in America, they face relentless pressure from those who regard them as outmoded and unimportant on one hand, or dangerously radical cultural nerve centers on the other. This lecture considers the continuing value of libraries to the individual and society; how Andrew Carnegie's original mission to create public libraries might be reimagined and reinvigorated in the modern world; and how libraries, rather than quiet backwaters, may in fact be the front line of a new battle to resist the erosion of fact, the enclosure of knowledge, and the theft of creative rights and rewards.
About Dame Louise Richardson
Dame Louise Richardson is president of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, the philanthropic foundation established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911. Previously, she served as vice-chancellor (president) of the University of Oxford and of the University of St. Andrews, and as executive dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
A native of Ireland, she studied history in Trinity College Dublin before gaining her PhD at Harvard University, where she spent 20 years on the faculty of the Department of Government, teaching courses on international security and foreign policy. She currently sits on numerous advisory boards, while serving as a trustee of the Booker Prize Foundation, the Yidan Prize, the National Theatre in America, and the nonprofit Inter Mediate. Richardson is also a member of the selection committee of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. In 2023, the Irish government asked Richardson to serve as the independent chair of its Consultative Forum on International Security Policy.
A political scientist by training, Richardson is recognized internationally as an expert on terrorism and counterterrorism. Today considered a seminal work in the field, her groundbreaking study, What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat (2006), was hailed by the New York Times Book Review as an “overdue and essential primer on terrorism and how to tackle it … the book many have been waiting for.” Other publications include Democracy and Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Past (2007), The Roots of Terrorism (2006), and When Allies Differ: Anglo-American Relations during the Suez and Falklands Crises (1996). She has written numerous articles on international terrorism, British foreign and defense policy, security institutions, and international relations; lectured to public, professional, media, and education groups; and served on editorial boards for several journals and presses.
Richardson’s many awards have recognized the excellence of her teaching and scholarship, including the Centennial Medal bestowed on her in 2013 by Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for “having the vision to assess emerging threats, for transformative leadership, and for moving seamlessly between the roles of scholar and teacher.” She has been awarded 12 honorary doctorates, including from the universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews in Scotland; Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast in Ireland; the University of Notre Dame and Boston College in the U.S.; the University of the West Indies; Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel; the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in Russia, and Université Grenoble Alpes in France. Richardson is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the Academy of Social Sciences in the United Kingdom, as well as an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy and a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
In June 2022, Richardson was appointed a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of her services to higher education. In 2024, the French government named Richardson a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters for advancing arts and culture and for furthering ties between the U.S. and France.
Places are limited, and advance registration is essential.
This is a free event. In the event of late arrival, your seat may be reallocated. Admission will not be permitted more than 15 minutes after the event begins.
This event is run in accordance with Trinity’s Dignity and Respect policy, and its commitment to nurturing a respectful and inclusive research culture.
Please indicate if you have any access requirements, such as ISL/English interpreting, so that we can facilitate you in attending this event. Contact: [email protected]
Event venue & nearby stays
Edmund Burke Theatre, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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