Spring 2010 Events

BC Irish Studies events in spring 2010, including the Gaelic Roots concert series, the Film Series, and the Creative Writers Series, are now listed on the website.

Lecture: Declan Kiberd

Declan Kiberd presents "John Henry Newman and the Bonfire of the Humanities" on Nov. 17, 2009 at 6:30pm in the National Library Seminar Room of the National Library of Ireland in Dublin. Declan Kiberd is the Chair of Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama Department at University College Dublin. He is the author of several books, including Irish Classics (Harvard University Press, 2002) and The Irish Writer and the World (Cambridge University Press, 2005).This lecture is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland. Admission is free. No reservations are required.

Film Screening: Blazing the Trail

The Boston Irish Film Festival presents Blazing the Trail: The Story of the Kalem Film Company in Ireland on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009 at 7pm at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Mass. Blazing the Trail presents a selection of rarely-seen films with live musical accompaniment and interspersed with popular Irish parlor songs from the 1910s. All of the films have been digitally restored, with some receiving their first public screening in almost a century. Affectionately known as the "O’Kalems," screenwriter/actress Gene Gauntier, Sidney Olcott and their crew became the first American filmmakers to shoot overseas and the first to produce films that reflected the realities of the Irish experience. A sentimental mix of rebel dramas, folk romances, and tales of exile and emigration, their films proved tremendously popular with the Irish in America.

Tickets are $9.75 and are available online at www.coolidge.org or at the Coolidge Corner Theatre box office.

Call for papers: Young in Ireland, Old in America

The European Association for American Studies Biennial Conference, "Forever Young"? The Changing Images of America, will take place March 26-29, 2010 in Dublin. There is a call for papers for the workshop "Young in Ireland, Old in America: Irish-American Communities of Thought," which aims to build on and expand the parameters of recent scholarship on Irish America and to unsettle some of the most problematic aspects of the Grand Narrative of Irish emigration to the U.S. The workshop will also address the importance of new strands of engagement with America in Ireland itself and the growing influence of the United States in Irish contemporary culture. Please submit papers to Sinead Moynihan (Sinead.Moynihan@nottingham.ac.uk or Marisa Ronan (marisa.ronan@gmail.com by December 1, 2009.

Lecture: Chasing Bernie Madoff

The Boston Irish Business Association welcomes Frank Casey, currently the President of Fortune Group, USA on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009 from 6 to 8pm at the University of Massachusetts Club (225 Franklin Street, Boston, MA). Frank Casey was named in the congressional hearings by Harry Markopoulos as one of his team of investment professionals that alerted the SEC to a suspected massive fraud at Madoff over many years. In early 1998, Frank Casey joined Rampart Investments where he met portfolio managers Harry Markopolos and Neil Chelo. The three formed the core team that began blowing the whistle to the SEC on Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme in May of 2000. This event is free for Boston Irish Business Association members, $25 for non-members. Register online for this event.

Boston College's digital collections: Bob Hanvey

Bobbie Hanvey, Irish photographer, writer, and musician, has recorded people and life in Northern Ireland since the 1970s. The Burns Library at Boston College is the institution that holds the bulk of Hanvey's unpublished work. Holdings have accumulated to more than 19,000 photographs documenting personalities and life in Northern Ireland during and after the "Troubles." There are another 31,000 photos on the way. The photographs are in negative- and positive-film format; since film materials are not access copies, the digital surrogates will provide the only access to the collection.

To date, over 3,400 images have been digitized, and over 2,000 are available online. On Nov. 5, 2009 the Boston College Libraries will officially "launch" this project with a presentation at 4:00pm in the Francis Thompson Room in the John J. Burns Library. Bobbie Hanvey will attend. There will be an exhibit of photographs at both the Burns Library and at the Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Library.

Have a look at the images in Boston College's digital collections site or browse a selection in Flickr.

These collections connect to a wide array of disciplines: Irish studies; political science; anthropology; sociology; literature; history; art history; communications; theater... and this is just the start! Boston College has allowed Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works usage of the photographs, and supplied download-able jpeg files suitable for use in on the web, in projected presentations or in Word documents.

Photo of Seamus Heaney, Bobbie Hanvey Photographic Archives, John J. Burns Library, Boston College

Trauma and Faith: A Conversation

The Boston College School of Theology and Ministry hosts "Trauma and Faith: A Conversation" on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 from 7 to 9pm in STM Room 135. This event will be cohosted by a delegation from Belfast, Northern Ireland. For more information, contact Colleen Brown (colleen@niamh.co.uk).

Lecture: Michael Haren

Michael Haren presents "The Dynamic of Fourteenth-Century Intellectual Contexts: Ireland, England and the Continent in the Development of Archbishop Fitzralph of Armagh as Pastor and Polemicis" on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009 at 7:30pm in the McGuinn Hall Third Floor Lounge (McGuinn 334). Michael Haren is the author of several books including Sin and Society in Fourteenth-Century England: A Study of the Memoriale Presbiterorum and Medieval Thought: The Western Intellectual Traditon from Antiquity to the Thirteenth Century. This talk is sponsored by the Boston Colloquium in Medieval Philosophy.

Book launch: Peaceable Kingdom Lost

The Center for Irish Programs presents the book launch of Peaceable Kingdom Lost: The Paxton Boys and the Destruction of William Penn's Holy Experiment (Oxford University Press, 2009), by Kevin Kenny on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, from 7:00-9:00pm in Connolly House (300 Hammond Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467). Copies of the book will be available for purchase at a 20 percent discount.

Kevin Kenny is Professor of History at Boston College. His principal area of research and teaching is the history of migration and popular protest in the Atlantic world. His latest book, Peaceable Kingdom Lost, explains how Pennsylvania's early religious tolerance and social harmony disintegrated during the eighteenth century, with disastrous consequences for the province's Indians.

Panel Discussion: Breaking the Immigration Stalemate

The Institute for the Liberal Arts, the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics, and the College of Arts and Sciences presents a panel discussion titled "Breaking the Immigration Stalemate" on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 4pm in Devlin 101. "Breaking the Immigration Stalemate" will address a new report from the Brookings-Duke Immigration Policy Roundtable that reflects the efforts of a group of individuals of divergent perspectives to establish some common ground across the policy and ideological divides that have stymied immigration reform. The panel will be moderated by David Quigley, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Featured speakers include Professor Peter Skerry (BC Political Science Department) and Professor Noah Pickus (Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University). Professor Daniel Kanstroom (BC Law School) and Jessica Vaughan (Center for Immigration Studies) will serve as respondents.

Call for papers: Irish Masculinities

Irish Masculinities: An Interdisciplinary Conference is scheduled to take place Feb. 26-27, 2010 at Queen's University, Belfast. The aim of this conference to draw this diverse body of researchers together to locate and theorize Irish masculinities for the first time within the specific context of Irish Studies. Papers of 20 minutes' duration are invited on themes which may include, but are not limited to: Representations of masculinity in Irish literature, the Irish male on stage and screen, Irish masculinities and socio-cultural taboos, sport and the Irish male, historicising Irish masculinity and performing Irish masculinities. Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words by Dec. 15, 2009 to Caroline Magennis and Raymond Mullen at irishmasculinities@googlemail.com.

Conference: Elizabeth I and Ireland

Elizabeth I and Ireland Conference is scheduled to take place Nov. 13-14, 2009 at the University of Connecticut. This conference aims to bring together a diverse range of historians and literary scholars to explore both Elizabeth I's direct role in the shaping of Irish policy and the ways in which Irish events and people affected her political style. Register online

Lecture: Richard Martin

Richard Martin will be giving a talk titled "Lost Boys and Lethal Toys: Attaining Manhood in Greek and Irish Saga" on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 at 4:30pm in Higgins 300. Richard Martin teaches Greek and Latin literature at Stanford University. His research focuses primarily on Homeric poetry and how it functioned as a performance art in Ancient Greece. Born and raised in Boston, he studied Classics as well as Medieval and Modern Irish language and literature at Harvard University where he received his B.A. in Classics and Celtic Literature and M.A. and Ph.D. in Classical Philology. For information about this event, contact Franck Salameh (salameh@bc.edu). This talk is part of the Heinz Bluhm Lecture Series.

Image via The Human Experience

Lecture: Peter Hart

Peter Hart, Canada Research Chair in Irish Studies at Memorial University in Newfoundland is award-winning author of Mick: The Real Michael Collins and The IRA and Its Enemies, will present a lecture contrasting two of Ireland's political icons during the 1922 founding of the Irish State, namely Eamon de Valera and Michael Collins. His presentation, with a reception to follow, will take place on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009 at 4pm in the Thompson Room of the Burns Library. Seating is limited. Please RSVP by phone (617-662-3938) or email (irish@bc.edu).

The Pure Drop: Traditional Irish Music at Berklee

FUSION Magazine and The Liberal Arts Department present "The Pure Drop: Traditional Irish Music at Berklee" on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 at 7pm at Cafe 939 in Boston. The evening features music by fiddler Oisin McAuley and harpist Kate Chadbourne, Berklee faculty and students. Tickets are free. For more information, please contact Joseph Coroniti (fusionmagazine@berklee.edu).

Conference: Legacy of Lemass

The University College Dublin presents the "Legacy of Lemass" conference on Friday, November 6, 2009 at the Humanities Institute of Ireland in Dublin. Participants include former Burns Scholar Diarmaid Ferriter (2008-09) and Rob Savage, Boston College. There is no charge for attendance. For additional information, contact Diarmaid Ferriter (diarmaid.ferriter@ucd.ie).

Sean Lemass and Sean MacEntee (Left to right) via Life.com

Irish Echo Boston-Northwest Ireland Gateways to Tomorrow Conference

Irish Echo Boston-Northwest Ireland Gateways to Tomorrow Conference takes place on Oct. 7-8, 2009 at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Centre in Boston. The conference will focus on business and cultural links between Boston and the Northwest part of the island of Ireland (Derry and Donegal primarily) and will be of interest to students of Irish Studies, Peace Studies, International Affairs. Speakers include Minister Conor Murphy MP MLA and Liam Ó Cuinneagáin is the Chairman of Údarás na Gaeltachta (the Gaeltacht Authority). Register online.

Sean Tyrrell

Sean Tyrrell opens the fall 2009 Gaelic roots series with "Message of Peace: Songs and Poetry of John Boyle O’Reilly, 1844-1890" on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009 at 4:00pm in Connolly House. This event is free and open to the public.

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Sean Tyrrell traces the journey of poet, journalist, and author John Boyle O'Reilly through famine, revolution, Fenianism, and penal servitude. Surrounded by music all his life, Sean Tyrrell comes from a family immersed in the musical traditions of his native Galway. During the 1960s he performed in the city's premier folk club, the Folk Castle, honing his vocal and instrumental skills while rubbing shoulders with a host of celebrated artists who performed there. Sean has toured Ireland, England, Europe, America and Australia with such artists as Kevin Glackin and Ronan Brown; Davy Spillane; Three for the Ditch (Sean, Frankie Lane, and comedian Jack Lynch); Paddy Keenan; poet Mary O'Malley; and Tommy Peoples. His CDs include Message of Peace (2009), The Orchard (2006), Rising Tide (2006), The Cry of a Dreamer (1995), and Belladonna (2006).

For more information, visit the Gaelic Roots homepage.

Lecture: Richard English

Richard English will give a lecture, in tandem with the launch of his latest book, Terrorism: How to Respond (Oxford University Press) on Sept. 14, 2009 at 4:00pm in the Thompson Room of the Burns Library. Author of award-winning books such as Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA (2003) and Irish Freedom: The History of Nationalism in Ireland (2006), English has been a frequent commenter on terrorism and political violence for the BBC and NPR, and has lectured widely in Europe and the United States. He is a Professor of Politics at Queen's University, Belfast.

Reading: Colum McCann

Colum McCann reads from his newest novel Let the Great World Spin on Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 7:00pm at the Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, Mass. Colum McCann is the author of the novels Zoli, Dancer, This Side of Brightness, and Songdogs, as well as two short story collections. A contributor to the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic Monthly, and the Paris Review, he teaches in the Hunter College MFA Creative Writing Program. This event is free; no tickets are required.