The Celtic Conference in Classics is a scholarly NGO, innovatory in structure and purpose. Independent of particular countries and campuses, it is open to all. It exists to create well-structured and intellectually-hospitable gatherings of international scholars in attractive settings. Founded in 1998 in Wales, it has met by rotation – initially every two years, and now every year: in Aquitaine, Brittany, Ireland, Québec, Scotland, Wales and Portugal. From its first meeting in 2000, its two official languages have been English and French. Attendances at the five most recent conferences, in Edinburgh, Dublin, Montréal, St Andrews and Coimbra, were (respectively) 250+, 300+, 200+, 250+ and 350+.

The Celtic Conference puts a high value on sociability and intellectual openness. We believe that acquaintances made at well-mannered seminars, and in the informal socialising that follows, often lay the basis of enduring collaboration between scholars from different regions and countries.