by Tom Moriarty

When Danny Sheehy died several months ago in an accident off the coast of Spain, the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England experienced a profound loss. Danny’s life and works reflected a deep appreciation of Irish culture, especially that of his west Kerry homeland, the very homeland he shared with the thousands of Irish who settled in the greater Springfield area.

Danny hailed from Corca Dhuibhne, the Irish speaking area of the Dingle Peninsula. From there he drew inspiration for his writings. He loved the people, their history, and their music. He traveled and explored the area’s mountains and hills as well as the islands off the coast. And he loved the Irish language which he had spoken since childhood and in which he wrote all his works. His subject as well often reflected the material culture of his west Kerry homeland. The naomhóg, the distinctly built vessels used by Kerry fishermen, is key to understanding the message of his first book, entitled in Irish Fan Inti. A long, rambling wall in his area is the inspiration for his work, Allagar na gCloch, a reflection on the generations who were its architects. One of his last works, recently translated as In the Wake of Saint Brendan From Dingle to Iceland, seems inspired by monks from western Ireland who centuries earlier had journeyed abroad on behalf of the Christianity that had taken root in Ireland.

Danny was a close friend and admirer of Father Pádraig Ó Fiannachta, the great Irish Language scholar who is widely recognized for his translation of the Old and New Testaments into Irish. Not surprisingly Sheehy was a regular and welcomed participant in the writing work-shops that Ó Fiannachta conducted at the Díseart in Dingle Town; several of Danny’s poems were products of those workshops. How ironic that these two great  Gaeilgeoiri should die within months of one another.

Since the founding of the Irish Cultural Center, Danny Sheehy had a keen interest in the organization’s work. During his visits to the Center he met and chatted with area residents from Ireland. He enthusiastically joined the Center’s participation in the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade. He represented the Center in a talk he gave at the annual communion breakfast of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Members of the Irish Center who took advantage of trips to Ireland were welcomed by Danny and benefited from his knowledge as their guide during mountain treks in the Dingle Peninsula.

I was among the members of the ICC who developed a warm friendship with Danny that I shall always treasure. A friend and I were fortunate to have had him as our guide during an extensive Irish tour. Clearly the man from Corca Dhuibhne was in no sense parochial in his knowledge of Ireland’s history and heritage. In our visit to Clonmacnoise, the great medieval monastic site on the banks of the Shannon River, for example, he helped us appreciate the magnificent medieval Irish crosses which are housed there. During our visit to Dublin, Danny, ever the advocate for the Irish Language, arranged a visit to a Gaelscoil in which Irish was the medium of instruction. We soon learned that Danny’s sister was the director of this particular school. Proponents of the Irish language see these schools as a hopeful sign of the continued vibrancy of the language. Another of our Dublin experiences was an excellent tour of Kilmainham Gaol where leaders of the 1916 Uprising were imprisoned and executed.

During our trip Danny didn’t fail to introduce us to Irish pub life. One of Danny’s favorite Dublin  establishments proved both crowded and cosmopolitan. We chatted with a Finnish mathematician returning quite satisfied to the continent after his experiences at an Irish university. At the same table was a well-dressed Irish businessman deploring over his third or fourth Guinness the economic downturn that Ireland was then undergoing: “We’re f__ked,” he lamented! We had a totally different pub experience on our return trip to Kerry. It was in County Offaly in the town of Moneygall. The town was the homeland of a great, great (or was it great, great, great?) grandfather of President Obama. Danny described the pub owner, one Ollie Hayes, with whom he chatted, as “the greatest.” The pub was filled with pictures and memorabilia of President Obama’s stop there during his visit to Ireland. And didn’t Ollie proudly say, “Sure isn’t my wife’s nephew Obama’s seventh cousin!” We nursed fond memories of that pub and other places we had visited all the way back to Kerry! With Danny as our guide we had clearly enhanced our appreciation of Irish culture and society.

We arrived back in Kerry late of a Saturday evening, but Danny, the Corca Dhuibhne Gaeilgeor, was in great form the following evening. He was the star actor in a short Irish language play performed in the west Cork Gaeltacht. We didn’t understand all the Irish, but the audience loved Danny’s performance. He was clearly in his element.

No tribute to Danny Sheehy can fail to say a word about the role of his wife Máire in his life and work. She was his conscientious and invaluable partner in the raising of their three children in an Irish-speaking home in rural Ireland. In her role as Director of Oidhreacht Choirca Dhuibhne her mission was to preserve and strengthen the rich heritage of the area.

Her work therefore both encouraged and complemented that of her husband. Máire no doubt had her uneasy moments in their relationship such as when her husband traveled in a naomhóg exploring the waters off the Irish coast! Yet, for her, he was an embodiment and spokesman for the culture and heritage she too loved. Through her own leadership of Oidhreacht Choirca Dhuibhne, she provided opportunities for individuals to study the Irish language. The language courses included guided tours of important historical and archeological sites in the peninsula and, sometimes, hill climbing expeditions conducted by Danny.

At a time when Máire was near her retirement from a leadership position in Oidhreacht Choirca Dhuibhne and shortly before Danny’s death, an important step had been taken to recognize and nurture the heritage and language for which they had both so lovingly labored. At a cost of 3.5 million euros a center for the development of the Irish language and the Kerry Gaeltacht generally was established. The project involved a partnership between the Irish state, the Kerry County Council, and relevant local organizations in Corca Dhuibhne. The new center, located in Ballyferriter, will provide services and facilities for the study of the Irish Language.

Perhaps one of the seeds of this new center in Ballyferriter was sown some twenty years earlier on the campus of Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. With the support of the Irish government, the audience in Veritas Auditorium was introduced to director Breandàn Feiritèar’s film “Blasket Roots, American Dreams” which traces the lives of Blasket islanders who settled in Corca Dhuibhne. Who were they, and what were their families like? Some nine hundred individuals, many with Kerry roots, attended the event that miserable winter evening. Sr. Kathleen Keating, Elms College President, herself with Kerry roots, warmly welcomed the visitors to the campus and introduced the film’s director who explained his goals in making the film.

Sr. Kathleen clearly recognized the enthusiastic response and appeal that the evening’s events had generated. Thus, under her leadership, with strong support of myself, Sean Cahillane, and other advocates of an Irish center at the college, the Irish Cultural Center was born. The establishment of this center signaled to the people of Kerry that a new center in the Dingle peninsula would be an asset for the area that would encourage interaction between Kerry and Western Massachusetts and beyond.

From its outset the Center was very broad in its understanding of the term Irish culture as reflected by the programs offered. Yet the circumstances of the Center’s birth served to keep alive a special interest in the history, language and culture of County Kerry. The writings and works of Danny and Máire Sheehy have helped to satisfy that interest. The Irish Cultural Center is off to a good start but faces many challenges: increasing membership, building its endowment, and strengthening its resources in Irish culture. Members of our organization warmly welcome the establishment of the new Irish language and cultural center in Ballyferrter. Let us hope that a warm relationship will flourish in the years to come. Fortunately the dedication of the new Irish center in Kerry had occurred before Máire’s retirement and Danny’s tragic death.

Some question the long-range viability of the culture and language of Corca Dhuibhne. Will they survive in twenty-first century Ireland? However, the lives and work of Danny and Máire Sheehy bolster our confidence in the future. Undoubtedly the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England will continue to recognize its connection to that culture. No, we won’t all learn to speak Irish, or even have an inclination to do so! We will, however, maintain and strengthen the admittedly fragile culture of which the Irish Ianguage is an important ingredient. In so doing we will be recognizing and honoring Danny and Máire’s lives and work. May they be confident that their labor has born fruit.

And of Danny we say: Ar dheis Dé go raibh sé: May he be at God’s right hand.

*Please note: This event has been canceled.*

Pass on the Heritage | July 23 –27, 2018

Celtic Adventures for Kids is a week-long program designed to give children in Grades 1 through 9 an introduction to the richness of Irish culture, through the auspices of the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England and Elms College. Space is limited. Sign up early!

Daily Activities Include:
– Irish language
– Irish dance
– Irish music
– Arts & crafts
– Storytelling/literature
– Games

What to bring: Sneakers with non-marking soles; soft dance shoes if your child has them; swimsuit and towel; lunch (optional: money to purchase snacks.) The Maguire Center swimming pool will be available for the children to use during the week; lifeguard is on duty.

Schedule: The program is in session from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Participants should be dropped off between 8:45 and 9:00 am at the Maguire Center at Elms College. Pick up is promptly at 3:00 pm at the Maguire Center.

Celtic Adventures for Kids

House of Hamill

The Irish Cultural Center invites you to an afternoon of eclectic fiddle and original music with House of Hamill Brian Buchanan (of Enter the Haggis), and Rose Baldino (of Burning Bridget Cleary). Their intimate, relaxed performances have been extremely popular in their many years of playing for the ICC, and will include new fiddle tunes and unique original compositions, plus new life breathed into traditional and contemporary songs.

House of Hamill will perform on Sunday, May 20 at 3:00 pm at the ICC’s Irish House Restaurant and Trinity Pub at 429 Morgan Road, West Springfield, MA. Doors open at 1:30 pm.

Tickets are limited for this intimate event. Advance purchase is highly recommended. Cost is $18 for ICC Patrons, $23 for general, $25 at the door. Tickets are available online or by calling the ICC at 413-333-4951.

Seating is general admission. Table seating is first come, first served; seating is also available in attached function room, where some views may be restricted (tv screen also will broadcast show in this room). Please let us know if special seating is required. The Irish House Restaurant’s menu and bar will be available before and during the show.

About House of Hamill

In 2014, Brian joined Rose onstage at the Folk Alliance conference in Kansas City. The two performed with virtually no rehearsal for over an hour, and their connection was powerful and immediate. A few months later Brian moved from Canada to Philadelphia, and as a tribute to the first tune Rose ever taught to Brian, House of Hamill was born.

Brian and Rose are both accomplished traditional fiddle players and classical violinists, and have over 25 years of writing and performance experience between them. Together, they write unusual new fiddle tunes while also breathing new life into traditional and contemporary songs. Both are confident and unique lead vocalists, and the blend of their two voices in harmony is hypnotic and irresistible.

Whether House of Hamill is covering one of their favorite songs in a new way or stomping through a set of original jigs and reels, their chemistry onstage is always engaging and often hilarious. You’ll leave with tired feet, a huge smile, and a new appreciation for the versatility of folk instruments in a modern context. House of Hamill’s debut album, Wide Awake, is a collection of original songs and instrumentals spanning a diverse range of styles.

 

Presenting Sponsor
Westfield Bank
Gold Sponsor
Freedom Credit Union

 

 

 

Green Sponsors
The Big EAllen St Package StoreColdwell Banker

 

 

 

 

All sales are final. Refunds are given ONLY in the event of cancellation by performers.

Valley Gives Day
Valley Gives Day 2018 is Tuesday, May 1. This is the day when those who love Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley come together for 24 hours of giving, to support the nonprofits who contribute to our region. Please consider donating to the ICC – any amount will help us continue our mission of promoting the Irish arts and culture in our community. Every donation also helps the ICC to win additional prizes throughout the day.

This is a time of great opportunity, progress and growth for the ICC. Your donation will add to our fundraising efforts for the continued work on our new location West Springfield. Our Irish House Restaurant and Trinity Pub is now open, but there is still much to be done. Renovations include our future museum and library, performance hall, landscaped grounds and patio, athletic playing fields and nature trail.

You are also supporting the Irish arts in our community. The ICC produces cultural events throughout the year, including concerts, art exhibits, Irish language classes and workshops, a week-long camp for kids, lectures with historians and scholars, and multiple travel opportunities to Ireland.

Please donate on May 1! Donations starting on April 26 will also count towards the Valley Gives Day total. We value your contribution and thank you for your support! Please like our Facebook page for updates and share the event with your friends.

Paul SneePlease join us at the ICC on April 29 at 2:00 pm for a lecture by Pól Ó Sniadhaigh – Nation and Language: A Bottom Up Perspective in the Poetry of the Gaelic Revival. Looking from the point of view of the displaced in an Ireland of two identities, this lecture examines the Irish speaking community during the identity formation phase of modern Ireland – a consideration of the people through poetry and in their own words. Pól is the current Irish Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at Elms College.

The week of April 9, twenty six students and eight adult guides from West Springfield High School left for a ten day exchange program to our sister city of Dingle, Ireland. This is the second consecutive year for this educational trip abroad. We wish them all a wonderful time in learning about the culture and heritage of this beautiful area of Ireland, that has such a strong connection to this region of western Massachusetts.

WSHS Students

West Springfield Mayor Will Reichelt was on hand to wish the students well on their journey.

The Irish Cultural Center of Western New England will hold its seventeenth Lá na Gaeilge (Irish Language Day) on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at Elms College in Chicopee, MA. It is an opportunity for those with an interest in this ancient language, which is now enjoying a resurgence, to deepen their knowledge and appreciation of this vital component of Irish culture. The program consists of two classes available at four levels: a beginner’s class, a class for those who have an introductory knowledge of Irish, an intermediate-level class and a class for advanced learners. Download a registration form.

As well as formal classes, Lá na Gaeilge consists of workshops (céilí dancing, film), and cómhrás (opportunities for conversation and dialog at the learner’s appropriate level).  A lecture, Beyond the Wild Atlantic Way: West Kerry Oral Tradition will be given by Seaghan Mac an tSionnaigh, Notre Dame FLTA. Lá na Gaeilge concludes in a seisiún with an opportunity for participants to display their musical talents, and all are encouraged to bring their instruments and voices.

Lá na Gaeilge begins with registration at 8:30 am and concludes at about 5:00 pm. The cost is $50 per person, and $45 for ICC Patrons. The cost for college-age and under students is $15. The price includes lunch and refreshments throughout the day. Lá na Gaeilge is a unique opportunity to encourage and promote Irish language learning at all levels. Registrations are due by May 1 – please download a registration form. For further information contact the ICC office at 413-333-4951 or email at irishcenterwne@gmail.com.

Irish Language Day

This has been quite a year of opportunity, accomplishment, growth and success for the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England. Without the support and loyalty of our Patrons, the successes would not have been realized. This effort is  successful because of the support of many who make a decision to act! We sincerely appreciate your past and future support, and thank you for your continued allegiance to the Irish Cultural Center. We want to be one of your special charities.

Our 2018 Annual Patron Support Campaign has begun, and we are asking Patrons to renew their commitment to the ICC this year by St. Patrick’s Day, an appropriate date and one easy to remember. As a non-profit charitable organization, your Patron support is vital! Your financial commitment allows the ICC to manage operating expenses, develop new programs, exhibit our cultural artifacts and continue to provide high quality events and opportunities for the Irish community.

We have worked steadfastly on our new home in West Springfield to renovate and restore the facility, rebuilding it to suit our unique purposes of promoting and preserving our Irish heritage. In March, we mark the one-year anniversary of the opening of our gathering place, the Irish House Restaurant and Trinity Pub, the first phase of our four-phase development. Weekly events in the pub include a traditional Irish music seisiún and live music with area artists, which generate an attractive atmosphere in which we can gather, meet friends, enjoy family, have dinner and share.

When the 10-acre facility is completed, our new home will include the handsomely handcrafted Irish House Restaurant and Trinity Pub, a library and museum, a performance center, athletic playing fields, a patio and a nature trail. Construction of these spaces is continuing over the next year. The ICC also serves as a bridge between the Irish government, the citizens of Ireland and the residents of the Western New England region.

Your support as a donor makes you a Patron, a person who has made a commitment to preserve, promote and cherish our Irish culture and heritage. Current Patrons have received their renewal letters in the mail – and as always, we welcome new Patrons! You may also submit your donation online. Learn more >

If you’ve already sent in your donation for 2018, thank you!

Sean Cahillane and Bo Sullivan

Mags Riordan and Suzanne Strempek Shea
Mags Riordan and Suzanne Strempek Shea. Photos by Dave Roback.

Please join us on Sunday, April 8 at the Irish Cultural Center from 1:00 – 4:00 pm for this special event. Mags Riordan returns to West Springfield to provide updates on the Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic and the latest news from her home in Chembe Village, Cape Maclear, Malawi, where an HIV/AIDS clinic was opened last spring thanks in part to the help of the many who’ve donated over the years. Mags will speak, show photos of the clinics, and exhibit crafts for sale from the village. Author Suzanne Strempek Shea will be in attendance as well, with copies of her book This Is Paradise: An Irish Mother’s Grief, an African Village’s Plight, and the Medical Clinic That Brought Fresh Hope to Both. Members of Billy’s Malawi Project USA, the registered nonprofit that helps raise funds for the clinic in this country, will be on hand to talk about their work.

Free and open to the public. Donations are welcome. Lunch will be available to order at the Irish House Restaurant and Trinity Pub. For further information on the clinic, please email or visit the website.

From Malawi to Morgan Road
By Suzanne Strempek Shea

I eavesdrop. Frequently.

It’s in the writer’s job description to be nosy, and noticing. Always. To spot the ticking second hand of the watch worn in the casket, to walk into the October North Atlantic and feel the exact level of cold, to taste the bread from a hometown bakery and catch the memories. Writers take in all they can, for inspiration, for information. And listening is among my favorite parts of being a writer and being alive.

Fourteen years ago while helping my friend Fran Ryan sell her beautiful knitwear at the Eastern States Exposition, I found my ear tuned to a woman selling crafts from Africa and collecting donations. To every passerby, she began her story: “I’ve just built a medical clinic in Malawi in memory of my son, Billy, who died there.” I asked for the rest of the story, and was told one of great tragedy but also of great transformation.

This is ParadiseAs can happen, the listening lead to a book. This Is Paradise: An Irish Mother’s Grief, an African Village’s Plight, and the Medical Clinic That Brought Fresh Hope to Both details the work of Mags Riordan, a Cork native and longtime Dingle resident who was a secondary school guidance counselor in 1999, when her 25-year-old son, world traveler Billy, drowned on his third trip to his beloved Cape Maclear, Malawi, which he called paradise.

Delivering a stone to the Cape a year after Billy’s death, Mags began to see why he fell for the impoverished country of 15 million known as “The Warm Heart of Africa.” Initially considering an education effort in Billy’s memory, she switched to a medical one after witnessing famine and a cholera outbreak, and being asked to help an injured child simply because she was European and might have a first aid kit. She realized there wasn’t so much as Panadol in the village, and little chance for more in a region then holding only one doctor for 800,000 but needing so much, with challenges including rampant malaria and a local HIV/AIDS rate as high as 34 percent. Her response, the Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic, was built and continues on via private donors and to date has served more than 350,000 people and saved countless lives.

I hope you’ll join me Sunday, April 8 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, at the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England, when Mags Riordan returns to West Springfield to update clinic supporters on the latest from her home in Chembe Village, Cape Maclear, Malawi, where an HIV/AIDS clinic was opened last spring thanks in part to the help of the many who’ve donated over the years. Our hosts at the ICC are graciously offering the space for an afternoon that is sure to be informative and inspiring, and we thank them for helping kick off Mags’ return to New England. We’ll have photos of the clinics, Mags will speak, crafts from the village will be sold, along with copies of This Is Paradise. The Irish House Restaurant will be open to serve lunch ordered from the menu. Members of Billy’s Malawi Project USA, the registered nonprofit that helps raise funds for the clinic in this country, will be on hand to talk about their work, too. Mags Riordan’s story is proof that one woman indeed can change a corner of world, and of the gifts that can result from stopping to listen.

Paul Snee
By Paul Snee, Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at Elms College.

Picture this; a family at the foot of the crossroads embracing each other for one last time, knowing this might be the last time to physically see their child. Unfortunately, here we see a familiar image of Ireland, an image the mind’s eye relates to clutched rosary beads and the infamous white boat. For many generations, leaving Ireland has been a common theme; the Starved Generation, the Fenian movement, the rebellion eras and more recently the Great Recession. In many ways the Irish old saying ‘Cloch eile ar an bpaidirínanother bead on the rosary beads captures the normality of exodus each generation has faced, a country unable to provide for its people.

Of course, the sentiment often feels like a numbed paradigm. The standard narration in response is the backward glance, looking back fondly but left without choice only to move on. Recalling images of rugged landscape, song and warmth of home. For many in the greater Springfield area a small piece of the heart never accepted passage on the boat, the western seaboard clung to the heartstrings. This was a necessary rational for the people of Cork, Mayo, Kerry amongst others where the land would only support one child – home provided suffrage no longer. Coming to the New World brought its own set of challenges, many leaving hunger in Ireland only to come to Hungry Hill and negotiate a new life, which, at times must have felt like the same circumstances in a different location. In many ways the migrants brought home to home.

Group at Elms College
Ben Ó Ceallaigh and lecture attendees at Elms College in January.

My regard for the Irish-American has increased so much since I arrived here almost six months ago. It’s a source of pride to see fellow Irish who left with only the clothes on their back, a crumpled ticket in a clenched fist to achieve what they have. Today’s institutions emerged from the same people, decedents of whom can be seen in the attributing pictures. Our Lady of the Elms provided opportunity for young females to pursue education at a time where neither Catholics nor females held much social capital. In pioneering female education in Western Massachusetts, Irish Catholics laid example to the Catholic community. A better life was no longer unachievable. Many of the second generation earning university degrees, a success simply unimaginable in Ireland given what they left. Later, the community breathed new life, twenty years ago this year with the birthing of the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England (ICC) from Elms College. In review, these developments are a measuring stick of the strides made over the past century, knitting the social fabric of the community together as well as providing a communal focal point. Accounts from members, central to the projects in the pending years attest to as much. Time in bearing witness to these changes has seen progress go from strength to strength with the Irish both sides of the Atlantic – Ireland and Western Massachusetts. The visitors over the years attest to this; Mary McAleese and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill are two speakers of note representative of these ties. A former president and also a poet renowned the world over but to name two. This is a testament to the vibrancy and demand on both sides of the Atlantic to deepen our roots. Not bad for what by United States standards is a small community west of Boston.

Naturally now, the challenge becomes how to nourish this connection, with the next bead on the chain as it were. Today’s society is wrapped in a set of social circumstances different to that of faced by our predecessors. We live in a time ever more individualistic and egocentric. Generations now must grapple with retaining identity while at the same time engaging with a social flux not yet developed. This intersection brings many of our previous values into light, needing re-evaluation. The question remains then, how can we continue to serve our community and remain faithful to the spirit upon which the project was founded.

Ben Ó Ceallaigh
Ben Ó Ceallaigh.

This I argue makes the relationship between Elms College and the Irish Cultural Center (ICC) more important than ever. It represents a constant in a changing environment, a grounding in reality in a life of superficiality. The lecture series coordinated between Elms College and the Irish Cultural Center provided by Ben Ó Ceallaigh was embolic of this relationship. His discussion showed an Ireland not typically discussed, overlooking romance and the benign narrative to induce critical discussion. His lectures drew localised issues and contextualised them on the international setting, treading issues in Ireland to global systematic structures – a microcosm of the whole. Ó Ceallaigh in drawing evidence from his research combed these overarching issues through the eyeglass of capitalism, neo-liberalism and identity. These concepts he argues are intrinsically linked to our everyday life settings.

The first lecture 1, Macroeconomic Forces and Majority and Minority Language Use in particular achieved this, linking overarching aspects of socio-economic change and their impact on the average person. Lecture 2 developed this idea further, championing the need for a social response in the form of education and community; Grassroots Language Activism and Radical Politics: Current and Historical Examples from the Gaelic Contexts.

Lecture 3, Minority Languages and Modernity: Technological and Social Challenges for Minority Language Reproduction focused on the minority language learner, highlighting the challenges and also recommending resources. Workshop Gàidhlig for Gaeilgeoiri (Scots-Gaelic and Irish) examined linguistically the two sister languages, exploring phonological and morphological divergence and how they have become realised in the modern language usage.

Lecture at the ICC
Attendees at Ben Ó Ceallaigh’s lecture series at the ICC in January.

The success of the events was not merely a success for Springfield but a success for Irishness and identity. The strong turnout of over one hundred people over the duration of the series indicates the massive financial investment made by the ICC was indeed the correct decision. The experience was made more special in linking up communities within the surrounding areas with people from Amherst, Boston, Brattleboro and Worcester also in attendance.

In bridging the gap between the new and the old, the series succeeded speaking on behalf of both Irish communities. Through recounting shared past experiences the audience without doubt felt a sense of importance in understanding Ireland has shaped the Irish-American but so too has the Irish-American shaped Ireland. It should be remembered that emerging from a common social fabric this heritage is ours to share. The language focus of the series is significant as there is no more profound signifier of identity. Ó Ceallaigh’s presentations remind and help us get closer to that understanding.

A word of thank you to Elms College and the Irish Cultural Center. A special thank you to the following for supporting the series: Dr. Joyce Hampton, William Dziura and David Kimbell from Elms College. Also, to Sean Cahillane, Katie Doe, Gerald Costello and all the staff of the ICC without whom this would not have been possible.

faoi scáth a chéile a mhaireann daoine’– people live under the shadow of one another