Excellent speech by Irish President Mary McAleese

Here’s a link to the President’s wonderful speech on Sunday at the Famine Memorial.

Courtesy of our friend Daithi McLoughlin

DON’T FORGET FAMINE EVENT ON SUNDAY MAY 23

At 1:45 pm on Sunday 23rd May, the President of The Republic of Ireland, Mary McAleese, will attend the official New York commemoration of the Great Hunger/An Gorta Mór at the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park City. All are welcome. http://irishhungercomm.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/president-mcaleese-to-visit-new-york/
This event is sponsored by The Irish Hunger Memorial Foundation. To listen to an audio file of a description of the day’s events at the Hunger Memorial, go to The Irish Radio Network’s website, ( http://www.irishradio.net/tune-in/index.html ) and listen to the first file ( http://media01.ultratek.com:81/player.php?clid=5&mid=883 ) listed on that page. In this audio file, Hunger Memorial Chairman James Gill is being interviewed about the May 23rd event by Adrian Flannelly on his radio show, which aired on May 16th, 2010.

The address of the Famine Memorial is 290 Vesey Street, New York, near Battery Park City.

IRISH FAMINE COLLECTION ON DISPLAY IN NEW YORK THIS SUMMER

We’re printing the press release from Quinnipiac University on this important exhibit:

Quinnipiac University to open major exhibit of Irish Famine sculpture, paintings and literature at the Consulate General of Ireland in New York City.

‘Hamden, Conn. – April 27, 2010 Quinnipiac University will open a major exhibition of sculpture, paintings and writings about the Irish Famine on Friday, May 21st at the Consulate General of Ireland in New York City. This marks the first time the exhibit has ever traveled from its permanent home in the Lender Special Collection Room at Quinnipiac.

“Ireland’s Great Hunger, An Gorta Mór: The Quinnipiac University Collection,” focuses on the famine years 1845-1850, when blight destroyed virtually all of Ireland’s potato crops for consecutive years. The crop destruction, coupled with British governmental indifference to the plight of the Irish, who at the time were part of the United Kingdom, resulted in the deaths of 1.5 million Irish men, women and children and the emigration of more than two million to nations around the world. This tragedy occurred even though there was more than adequate food in the country to feed its starving populace. Exports of food and live stock from Ireland actually increased during the years of the Great Hunger.

The exhibition contains sculptures by noted artists John Behan, Glenna Goodacre, Rowan Gillespie and Kieran Tuohy. Several of the pieces in the collection are maquettes, or miniatures, of Famine memorials that have been erected in recent years both at Irish ports where families embarked for new lands and at ports of entry in the United States and Canada, where the Irish fled in desperation.

Paintings, lithographs, photographs and etchings by artists Padraic Reaney, Micheal Farrell and Kit de Fever are also featured.

The extensive book collection held in the permanent collection at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, is represented in photographs and video features. The books are used for scholarly research both at the University and by other faculty scholars.

The exhibition is on display at the Consulate General of Ireland, 345 Park Ave., 17th floor, New York City, through Sept. 3. Visitors are welcome to view the exhibit weekdays, but should call the Consulate at 212-319-2555 for specific times and hours or visit the website http://www.thegreathunger.org.

Admission is free.

Quinnipiac University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours south of Boston. The university enrolls 5,700 full-time undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students in 52 undergraduate and 20 graduate programs of study in its School of Business, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, and College of Arts and Sciences. The 2009 issue of U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master’s programs in the North.

McAleese to Visit New York This Weekend

From the website of the Irish Consulate in New York:

President McAleese to visit New York

On Thursday 20^th May President Mary McAleese begins a four-day visit to New York.  During the visit the President will promote Irish economic links with the US, strengthen links with the Irish community and lead the National Day of Commemoration to remember and honour the 1.5 million people, who either perished or emigrated from Ireland during the Great Irish Famine of the 1840’s.

President McAleese will be accompanied by her husband, Dr. Martin McAleese throughout the visit.

Congregation Shearith Israel

At 8.30am on Sunday 23^rd May the President will attend a ceremony to mark the generosity of the New York Jewish community to the people of Ireland during the Famine in 1847. The ceremony will take place in Congregation Shearith Israel.  All are welcome.

Address: Congregation Shearith Israel, 2 West 70^th Street @Central Park West, New York City

Irish Hunger Memorial

At 1.45pm on Sunday 23^rd May, the President will attend the official New York commemoration of the Great Hunger/An Gorta Mór at the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park City.  All are welcome.

Address: 290 Vesey Street, New York

Monday, May 17 at Glucksman House

Next week at Glucksman Ireland House NYU:

Origin Theatre Company’s Mondays of May:
Reading of the 2009 Stewart Parker Award-winning The Death of Harry Leon

Origin Theatre Company returns to Glucksman Ireland House NYU with the sixth annual Mondays of May reading series, presenting four works by contemporary European playwrights. Next week Mondays in May presents The Death of Harry Leon, written by Conall Quinn and directed by Matt Torney. The cast includes Sean Gormley, Ken Jennings, Paul Nugent, Laurence Lowry, Aidan Redmond, Tim Ruddy, Christopher Randolph, Laoise Sexton, Fiona Walsh and Gordon Woods.

About The Death of Harry Leon

Dublin, the 1930s. Harry Leon, a poet, is a man at ease with himself and the world around him. Though born a Jew and of Russian ancestry, Harry considers himself very much Irish first and Jewish second. But the world is changing. Adolf Hitler is in power in Germany and anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe. In Ireland, sinister forces are emerging from the shadows that will propel Leon to confront the power of his own words and his own Jewish identity. The Death of Harry Leon is the story of a man’s struggle with his country, his past and with himself.

Conall Quinn’s plays include Miss Canary Islands 1936, produced by the Focus Theatre (2002); The Unfortunate Machine-Gunning of Anwar Sadat (2005), nominated for a Fringe First award; Spider and the Lily, commissioned by the Abbey, received a public reading in the Peacock Theatre in 2007 and is currently a work-in-progress. The Death of Harry Leon was originally commissioned by the Abbey Theatre in 2004.

In 2008 Origin Theatre Company launched The Origin Initiative, an exciting addition to Ireland’s most prestigious playwrighting award. With the Origin Initiative, in addition to winning prize money, the recipient of The Stewart Parker Trust Award is be flown to New York where his or her work will be presented at Origin Theatre Company’s annual play reading series, Mondays of May at Glucksman Ireland House NYU. Established 21 years ago in tribute to Northern Irish playwright Stewart Parker, The Stewart Parker Trust Award annually honors and promotes Ireland’s hottest new playwriting talent. We are happy to welcome 2009 winner Conall Quinn.

Admission is free and open to the public.

RSVP required to Origin at (212) 253-8300.

GAELIC FESTIVAL ON SUNDAY MAY 16

this Sunday May 16 (3pm -6pm) make tracks for Amity Hall who will host the 1st Greenwich Village Gaelic Festival.

Featuring bilingual readings by Dr. Art Hughes, Irish dancing by Niall O’Leary, great Donegal fiddle music from Tony De Marco plus Irish food and the best beer in town!..and its FREE!

Location: Amity Hall, W 3rd St. (Thompson & Sullivan St.) Greenwich Village NYC

Third Annual Watson House Symposium

May 8, 2010 – 9:30am -4:00 pm
7 State Street (South Street @ the Battery)
New York City

9:00 AM – Registration
10:00 – Presentation: Early Religious History of NY – The impact of Elizabeth Seton

12:00 -1:30pm – Undergraduate projects and table presentations of their various NY History topics

1:30 -4:00 pm – Two presentations of service to immigrants. Our Lady of the Rosary Parish to Titanic survivors and Saint Rafael’s parish of service to Italian Immigrants.

Contributors: Sr. Maryann Lopiccolo, SC., Maureen Murphy Ph.D., Mary
Brown Ph.D., and Maria Iacullo-Bird, Ph.D., and her students from Pace
University.

THE EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC:
Registration required,limited seating.
Call 212.269.6865 or email setonshrine05@netscape.com