Adventures in Sixteenth-Century Brewing

Brewing Power: Food and Drink in Sixteenth-Century Ireland

(This event is part of an interactive public lecture series at Dublin Castle)

Dublin Castle is delighted to present a six-part public lecture series exploring how food and drink shaped everyday life, social relationships and authority in sixteenth-century Ireland. The series draws on new research conducted by the FoodCult project, led by Trinity historian Dr Susan Flavin, and moves between the kitchens of Dublin Castle and the reconstructed Tudor brew houses combining history, science, archaeology, craft and film.

Adventures in Sixteenth-Century Brewing

This opening event screens Drunk? Adventures in Sixteenth-Century Brewing, a research-based film that follows the reconstruction of a sixteenth-century Irish beer through experimental archaeology. Introduced by historian Susan Flavin and filmmaker Shreepali Patel, the screening shows how a sixteenth-century beer was reconstructed through practical brewing work, and how film can shape how the process was interpreted and communicated to audiences. The discussion considers what film can reveal about historical practice, particularly where written sources fall silent, and why seeing work being done matters for understanding the past.

Link to the film Drunk? Adventures in Sixteenth-Century Brewing:
https://vimeo.com/864341037/f0527aecdd

Date: Friday, 6th February, 2026

Time: 7 pm – 8.30 pm (Doors open at 6.45 pm)

Location: George’s Hall, The State Apartments, Dublin Castle Upper Yard

Adults (18+)

Tickets: €7 (plus booking fee)

Susan Flavin - Associate Professor of History, Trinity College Dublin; Principal Investigator, FoodCult

Shreepali Patel - Professor of Multimodal Storytelling, London College of Communication (University of the Arts London); Director of Drunk? Adventures in Sixteenth-Century Brewing

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Host or Publisher Dublin Castle, OPW