On Saturday, April 17, the Healey Library at UMass Boston hosted the virtual event “Connemara, New England, and the Irish Language: Living Stories that Connect Us” celebrating the “Boston and the Irish Language” oral history project.
The event featured Máirtín Ó Catháin from the Emigrants Commemorative Centre Carna, Michael Connolly from the Maine Irish Heritage Center, and Seán Ó Coistealbha from Muintearas, together with panelists Natasha Sumner, Gregory Darwin, and Brian Frykenberg. The event was made possible by Cumann na Gaeilge i mBoston (The Irish Language Society of Boston), Mass Humanities, the Éire Society of Boston, and the Emigrant Support Programme of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland.
Event Recording
Additional Resources and Links
Download the participant chat from the virtual event.
Cumann na Gaeilge i mBoston (The Irish Language Society of Boston) offers online language classes. For more information and to register, visit cumann-na-gaeilge.org/class-registration/.
Ár dTeanga Féin out of Worcester, Massachusetts, offers Zoom classes for beginner, intermediate, and advanced students if numbers allow. Email info@adtf.org or visit adtf.org/ for more information.
The South Boston Branch of the Boston Public Library has a small collection of books in Irish donated by Údaras na Gaeltachta. While they’re not open for browsing currently, please contact Jane or Kathleen at 617-268-0180 or email Branch Librarian Jane Bickford at southboston@bpl.org for assistance.
Nuacht TG4 ran a news piece about the event. Click here to view the piece on Facebook.
Máirtín Ó Catháin wrote this article about the event and collection for an Irish-language blog: “Glórtha agus Gaeilge mhuintir Chonamara curtha i dtaisce in Ollscoil Massachusetts.”
Learn More and Connect
If you have questions about getting involved or taking part in an oral history interview, email Project Coordinator Brian Frykenberg: frykenberg@comcast.net.
The Boston and the Irish Language project investigates the unique importance of Irish in forming persistent bonds among and between Connemara emigrants living in Boston with their families and communities in Ireland through recorded personal interviews. The project is sponsored by Cumann na Gaeilge i mBoston (The Irish Language Society of Boston) and supported by a Mass Humanities project grant and the Emigrant Support Programme of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland. Topics explored include: upbringing through the Irish language, economic and social conditions in Ireland, reasons for emigration or return, adaptation to and participation in life within the United States, changes experienced since arrival, and current use of Irish. The oral histories collected as part of this project are part of the digital collections of University Archives and Special Collections in the Healey Library at UMass Boston. Explore the collection.
University Archives and Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.
University Archives and Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives and Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.