Food and the Performance of Power in Sixteenth-Century Ireland

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.

Food and the Performance of Power in Sixteenth-Century Ireland.

Food was one of the most visible ways in which power was expressed in sixteenth-century Ireland - and one of the most demanding to sustain.

Building on the evidence of the Dublin Castle household accounts, this lecture explores how food was used to project authority through abundance, hierarchy, ritual eating and hospitality. It examines what it meant to keep power visible at the table, including the scale of consumption and the expectation of generosity.

The talk also considers the darker side of this system. By tracing how food and drink were sourced, moved and consumed, the lecture shows how colonial provisioning depended on extraction from Irish society, creating a system that was exploitative by design and unstable in practice.

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

Date: Friday, 20th 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

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Host or Publisher Dublin Castle, OPW