Below are Past Events of the New York Irish History Roundtable. Continue Reading
New York Irish History Roundtable
Water And Ice: The Irish Victims
On Saturday, March 3 at 2 p.m., historian Art Mattson will tell the story of terrible shipwrecks in the 1830s that resulted in the deaths of over 200 immigrants just outside the port of New York. Most victims were Irish, many of them women and children drawn to the freedoms and expanding opportunities in America. They… Continue Reading
A Girl From Queens
On Saturday, May 12 at 2 p.m., author Eileen Markey will discuss the life—and death—of Sister Maura Clarke, M.M., whose brutal assault and murder at the hands of Salvadorian soldiers in 1980 became the source of international news and years of debate over America’s Cold War policy in Latin America. Who was Maura Clarke, and… Continue Reading
Getting Sober: Irish Leaders In Alcoholism Recovery
On Saturday, October 21, author Christopher M. Finan will discuss America’s troubled history with alcoholism and its long search for sobriety. The focus of this unique program will be on Irish-American leaders who took up the long battle against the disease and the successful results of their efforts. He will also recount the early roles… Continue Reading
Launt Thompson: Enduring Success
On Saturday, December 2, writer and Roundtable member Michael Burke will discuss Launt Thompson, the Irish-American sculptor who rapidly rose to fame and accomplishment in the United States in the years following the American Civil War. Thompson’s success, however, was dramatically jolted at one of its highpoints and Thompson died in a state asylum. The… Continue Reading
The New York “Police Scandal” of 1892
On Saturday, March 4, we will host a provocative program about what became labeled as the New York “Police Scandal” of 1892. With powerful results, charges were sensationally leveled against police practice and Tammany Hall activity in the city of New York by one of Gotham’s leading citizens. The centerpiece of this Roundtable program will… Continue Reading
Building Bridges
In the mid-1800s, Irish Catholics arrived in the U.S. in dramatic numbers. They were often confronted with severe and ugly discrimination, and they reacted in various ways. One such reaction—uncommon in its time—was that of Fr. Sylvester Malone. To hear more about this unique man, join us and Geoffrey Cobb on Saturday, May 6 at… Continue Reading
On Inwood—and Being at the War
On Saturday, Oct. 22, the NYIHR will provide a special program on Manhattan’s Inwood, once the largest Irish community in New York. Author Edward Hagan and Roundtable president John Ridge will collaborate to re-capture Inwood, its institutions, values—and its expectations for its inhabitants. This program will take place at 2 p.m. in the McCloskey meeting… Continue Reading
Shaping Culture: The impact of Irish-American Writers
On Saturday, Dec. 3 author Eileen Sullivan will present a talk on changes in the culture of American Catholicism emerging from the works of nineteenth-century writers who created a distinctive—and influential—Irish-American literature. Examining characters and themes in novels published in 1830s to the 1870s, Professor Sullivan will shed new light on how, for example, Irish… Continue Reading
The Garden Spot
Greenpoint, in northern Brooklyn, is today one of the dynamic neighborhoods in New York City. Sometimes referred to as “Little Poland,” it once was home to large numbers of Irish and Irish-Americans who took advantage of its location and resources. Who were these Irish, and why did they settle in Greenpoint? To find out the… Continue Reading
Irish-Language Mass at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral
For the ninth consecutive year, the New York Irish History Roundtable, Glucksman Ireland House NYU, and the Basilica of Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral will celebrate an Irish-language Mass. Father Andrew O’Connor of St. Mary’s Church in Manhattan will be the celebrant. Liturgical music will be performed on the Basilica’s historic 1868 Henry Erben Organ by… Continue Reading
