Historian Edward T. O'Donnell’s talk will explore the origins and workings of the “political machine” and why the Irish were uniquely suited to take advantage of it. He will also discuss the Irish political machine as an agent of charity and social welfare in an era when the poor had few places to turn for

American writer Thornton Wilder once described Newport as a community made up of nine cities, each with its separate identity. Like Theophilus North’s fictional Newport of 1926, each city has its own story to tell and Nora Mulloy’s is one of them. Born in County Roscommon Ireland, Nora Mulloy immigrated to Newport and like many

Historian, lecturer and Baltimore native, Denny Lynch will present a slide-illustrated talk examining some of the fascinating ties that have existed between his state and the nation of Ireland. Using his beautiful images, Denny will reveal how these connections have manifested themselves throughout Maryland's history. He will also highlight the role that Baltimorean Catherine Harper

One can does not talk about 20th century Ireland without considering Eamon DeValera. No one was more controversial, and no one had a greater effect in shaping Ireland in his own image than "Dev". Without question, during his time in power, DeValera was one of the greatest politicians on the world stage. With power, however,

Newporter’s may remember Justice Murray from her twenty-year service as “The Newport Judge” on R.I. Superior Court, or for her two decades of tenure as the first woman Supreme Court Justice in Rhode Island. Most are not aware of the broad range of professional achievements and civic contributions of this Fifth Ward-raised member of the

Irish immigrant John Gordon was the last person executed by the State of Rhode Island, after his conviction for the murder of Cranston mill owner, Amasa Sprague, in 1843. Ken Dooley will speak about his play, which sheds new light on this infamous 165-year-old incident. Dooley’s meticulously researched and intriguing play dramatizes just how and

This Irish-language title for the “Irish Volunteers” of 1913 was retained when the Volunteers became known in English as the “Irish Republican Army” (IRA) during the War of Independence of 1919-1922. Ireland has had a long history of violent opposition to British occupation, and, in his talk, Dr. Matthews will discuss the rise of the

Gilded Age Newport is well-known for its summer colonists and for the “cottages” that they built. However, less attention has been paid to the city’s year-round residents, at least one-third of whom were Irish. For Irish Newporter’s, this was a time of increasing visibility and influence. They were becoming prominent in local politics and in

The complete 1880 U.S. Census illustrates the patterns of Irish settlement in Newport. Because the Census allows us to map Irish immigrants to their individual street addresses, it reveals residential concentrations. Professor Schlichting will identify the emerging Irish neighborhoods of 1880 and his analysis of the census data will provide new insight into “chain migration”

After the defeat of O’Donnell and O’Neil, many of the McGlinchey clan escaped to Donegal in the North, in the early 1600s. Professor Desrosiers’ Irish ancestors, Eliza McGowan and Patrick McGlinchey, lived in Meentaghcallagh near Buncrana in the remote Inishowen Peninsula. When Patrick lost his life in a quarry accident, Eliza found a way to

The music that is broadly defined as Irish has developed in tandem with the media technologies of the past 100 years. From the wax cylinder to the iPod, technology has had a dramatic impact on the preservation, transmission and transformation of music in general and of Irish music in particular, a genre whose roots lie

The Rhode Island Irish Famine Memorial, located on the Riverwalk in downtown Providence, powerfully commemorates the sufferings and triumphs of the two and one half million victims and survivors of Ireland's "Great Famine" of 1845-1851. It also pays a moving tribute in granite, bronze and brick to the successive waves of Irish immigrants who have