From the Bog to the Cloud: Dependency and Eco-Modernity in Ireland

An evening of talks and a short film screening about technology, sustainability and Ireland. The authors of From the Bog to the Cloud: Dependency and Eco-Modernity in Ireland present their book, which challenges eco-modern and techno-solutionist approaches and links narratives of sustainability with colonial histories and uneven development, arguing that tech-driven transitions replicate exploitative patterns of imperial capitalism. Using Ireland as a focal point, they show the history and depth of the country's postcolonial dependency on multinational investment, especially US technology companies, including arms companies. The talk is accompanied by Roisin Agnew's short film Bog Communism, a micro short that is part film essay, part mock recruitment video, exploring resistance to data centres in Ireland via archive footage and Unreal Engine.