12:00pm
O'Neill Library Reading Room
St. Patrick’s Day, the 17th of March, is the single biggest national day celebrated globally. This lunchtime talk by Professor Mike Cronin will show how St. Patrick’s Day was born in the United States as a visceral demonstration of Irish American ethnic power. It will then explore how the Irish state (and associated business interests) have leveraged St. Patrick’s Day globally to market the state and make Ireland one of the most readily recognized national brands.
Professor Mike Cronin is the Academic Director of Boston College in Ireland and a member of the Irish Studies faculty. As an historian, he has worked extensively on the creation and dissemination of Irishness. His publications include (with Daryl Adair) Wearing the Green: A History of St Patrick's Day (with Daryl Adair, 2002), The Routledge International Handbook of Irish Studies (with Renee Fox and Brian O Conchubhair, 2022), and Revolutionary Times: Ireland 1913-23 The Forging of a Nation (with Mark Duncan, 2024). He has held fellowships across the world and is currently a Visting Professor at the University of Queensland and at the International Centre for Sports History and Culture in Leicester.
Before and during the talk, attendees will be invited to enjoy a complimentary buffet lunch featuring traditional St. Patrick’s Day fare and vegetarian options. All are welcome.
For further information on BC in Ireland, visit the webpage for Boston College in Ireland.
5:30pm
Burns Library
Burns Library invites you to celebrate the publication of The Enchanted Bay, edited by Cormac O’Malley and Patrick Mahoney, and Reflections of an Irish Grandson by Vincent J. Quealy, Jr. Both books explore themes of Irish folklore and heritage, which attendees will have the chance to learn more about during short talks by the authors.
Light refreshments will be served at 5:30pm, followed at 6:00pm by readings and remarks. Books will available for sale and signing.
For those who may be interested, Guy Beiner, Sullivan Chair of Irish Studies at Boston College, will lead a panel discussion on engagements with Irish folklore in Burns Library at 4:00pm with Ray Cashman (Indiana University, Bloomington) and Hilary Joyce Bishop (Liverpool John Moores University). See the BC Events Calendar for more details.
Presented by Boston College Libraries in collaboration with Boston College Irish Studies, the above events are free and open to the public. Contact Caroline Pace (pacecar@bc.edu; 617-552-3282) for more information, including accessibility and parking needs.
Edited by Cormac K.H. O’Malley and Patrick J. Mahoney
It is a little-known fact that Ernie O’ Malley, renowned for his role in Ireland’s revolutionary struggle, was also a passionate collector of Irish folklore. Centered on O’Malley’s native Clew Bay and its environs and transcribed by his son Cormac, The Enchanted Bay presents a rich tapestry of tales that showcases the enduring power of oral tradition in Ireland. A testament to O’Malley’s multifaceted legacy, several of the stories in this compilation were gathered while he travelled Ireland as an Irish Republican Army organizer.
Vincent J. Quealy, Jr.
In 1885, Peter Meade leased a small ten-acre farm in Miltown Malbay, County Clare. He and his wife, Ellen, raised a large family of fourteen children, including the author’s grandmother, Bridget, during a turbulent time in Ireland that led to its independence, but also civil war and partition. Like many young women, Bridget came to America to seek a new life while some of her brothers fought and one even lost his life supporting the Irish Republican Army.
12pm
Burns Library
"I entered my reading the way an echo enters a sound.” ~ Eavan Boland
One small island, one giant treasure trove of artistic talent. The island of Ireland has had four Nobel Prize laureates in Literature: William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, and Seamus Heaney. It has also produced many extraordinary women poets, including Nuala Ní Domhnaill and Eavan Boland.
In collaboration with John J. Burns Library at Boston College, the Charitable Irish Society and the Eire Society of Boston, with funding from Ireland's Emigrant Support Program, are pleased to host an evening of Irish poetry readings, featuring in particular poems by Eavan Boland in tribute to her recent passing and renaming of Trinity College Dublin's main library in her honor. Please bring a poem by your own favorite Irish poet to read, or just come to listen and enjoy.
The program of readings will begin at 7:00pm, following a complimentary beer, wine, and hors d'oeuvres reception beginning at 6:00pm.
This event is free and open to the public. All are welcome. No registration required.
For directions and advice on parking and accessibility, please see: https://libguides.bc.edu/burns/visit/events
