On Thursday 7 February 2008, Aois agus Eolais – the Centre for Ageing, Neuroscience and the Humanities will host a charity premiere of the extraordinary movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly in aid of Stroke Research in the Adelaide and Meath Hospital Dublin, incorporating the National Children’s Hospital, Tallaght (AMNCH). It will begin with a reception at 6.30pm in the Atrium (map), Trinity College Dublin, followed by the screening at 8.00pm, Irish Film Institute (map), Eustace Street, Dublin 2. Subscription is €50, and further information and inviations are available from Catherine Talbot at 01 414 2432 or Marian Hughes at 087 286 4527.

The movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (official site | imdb | wikipedia) is based on the book Le scaphandre et le papillon by Jean-Dominique Bauby (amazon | NYT review | wikipedia), in which Bauby recounts the effects of a catastrophic stroke and weeks of deep coma from which he surfaced into “locked-in syndrome“, mentally alert but deprived of movement and speech, leaving the blinking of his left eyelid as his only means of communication. Directed by Julian Schnabel, the movie based on the book is shot from Bauby’s perspective, offering us views of his memories and imagination and his struggle to communicate and come to terms with his condition. It has won numerous international prizes and awards, including Best Director at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director in the recent 2008 Golden Globes. The proceeds of the premiere will be applied in particular to support the Music Therapy research project in the stroke service at the AMNCH.

This event is only the most recent in a long line of similar events by which Aois agus Eolais – the Centre for Ageing, Neuroscience and the Humanities has sought to promote a wider understanding of ageing in Ireland, especially among healthcare workers. The activities in the centre have included collaborations with the National Gallery of Ireland (pdf), the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, RTE Lyric FM, the School of Religions and Theology in TCD, the Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire (IADT), the Trinity College Institute of Neurosciences (TCIN), and the Trinity Centre for Bioengineering (TCBE).