Forty friends – old and new – from Utica, NY to Bennington, VT to New Haven, CT attended a day of Irish language immersion at the Irish Cultural Center in May. Each year the Center provides a resource that enables students to taste, improve, or strengthen their Irish language skills. The focus for the day was to enable the students to use what they had learned. You may have noticed the proverb that we use in our newsletters, Labhair í agus mairfidh sí, which means Speak it and it will live (or last). All the participants used that as their direction during the day.

Irish language group

In order to make the day interesting, and recognizing that people learn differently, we used a variety of ways to highlight the language through conversation circles, grammar classes, Irish language films, dance, and music. The highlight of the day was the lecture delivered by Ciara Nic Oscair, the Fulbright FLTA, on “The Irish Language in the Thirty Two Counties.” The participants learned about the different dialects and the enthusiasm for the language throughout the island of Ireland.

The enthusiasm and skill of our instructors and presenters: Kathleen Gilhooly, Mary McShane, Rath de Houst, Erin Mulvaugh, and Ciara helped make the program successful. As we look forward to lucky thirteenth Immersion Day next May, you shouldn’t wait. Take advantage of the classes offered at Elms College this Fall and Spring. We are grateful to Chicopee Savings Bank, for being a proud sponsor of Irish Language Day.

by Chip Costello

Siobhán Armstrong harpistFriday, June 7 was a stormy evening but quite an entertaining one in Our Lady’s Chapel at the Elms. While on tour in New England, Siobhán Armstrong took time to visit the Irish Cultural Center and to perform for over 125 members and guests. Siobhán’s music and storytelling mesmerized the listeners; it was as if the Chapel had been transformed to a medieval castle.

Siobhán founded and chairs the Historical Harp Society of Ireland, an organization which is spearheading a revival of the playing of Ireland’s historical harp. She plays Irish and European single-row harps from the 15th-18th centuries and performs and records internationally with the main period-instrument ensembles thee paland conductors, mainly in Europe.

ICC Board of Directors Chip Costello and Will Dziura hosted the event. Many thanks to volunteers: Ann Lowe, Winifred Hopkins, Kathy Gallivan, Meghan Sullivan and Beth Costello, for helping to make the evening a success!

Firefighters at Armory StreetThe story of the Irish in the Connecticut Valley is a rich and distinct tale of trial and triumph for one of the many immigrant groups of the area. A new exhibit at the Springfield Museums titled The Irish Legacy: Immigration and Assimilation in the Connecticut Valley during the Industrial Revolution explores the experience of the Irish community in the Connecticut Valley through various artifacts and images including books, musical instruments, religious objects, and photographs. The exhibit will be on view in the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History from June 11 to August 25, 2013.

Visitors will get a glimpse of many traditional Irish objects of cultural and historical significance on loan from the Irish Cultural Center in Chicopee, including instruments like the bodhrán, religious objects like the St. Brigid Cross, and even a traditional Irish dance costume and shoes.

Presented in partnership with The Republican, WGBY, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Five Colleges, Inc., and Irish Cultural Center at Elms College.  As part of this exhibit, the Irish Cultural Center is sponsoring a Celtic Cart for children every Tuesday through August 13th  from 11:30 to 1:30 pm.

Sean CahillaneMike Carney

 

 

 

 

 

Blasket Islander Mike Carney was the local hero at the May 25 launch of his book, ‘From the Great Blasket to America – the Last Memoir by an Islander.’

The event, held at the Great Blasket Center in Dunquin, Co. Kerry – with a view to the island where he spent his first 16 years – drew an overflow crowd of about 500 people, including national dignitaries and three Irish Cultural Center members.

Carney was joined by his family, including children Maureen Carney Hayes, Kathleen, Eileen and Michael Carney, his son-in-law Jerry Hayes who helped write the book, and grandchildren. He was surrounded by many friends from both Ireland and Greater Springfield.

One guest was ICC President Sean F. Cahillane, who brought official greetings from the Chicopee-based organization.

“We’re so happy and proud to be a part of this event and to be connected with this book,” said Cahillane, whose mother Eileen Kearney Cahillane, was also born on the island and was a cousin to the author. Mike Carney is now 92.

Host of the event was Blasket Center Director Michael DeMordha.

Other ICC members present were Mary Ellen Lowney and Mary Ellen O’Brien.

The 200-page book, published this year, tells the story of Carney, who was born in 1920 and eventually moved to the Hungry Hill section of Springfield, where he married Maureen Ward Carney.

Jerry Hayes told a packed audience the story of how Carney decided to write the book, and how together they wove the words to put the life story on the record. It joins an impressive list of books written by Blasket Island authors as well as by others about the island that was evacuated in 1953. The Great Blasket was home to about 200 people at the turn of the last century, but fell victim to isolation and immigration.

Carney was moved to tears by the outpouring of support and affection, standing up and greeting the crowd at the end. A few days later, he rode the ferry across the Blasket Sound, climbed up the steep hill to the old village and had a look. That moment was recorded by RTE, national Irish television, and aired for all to see.

The North American launch took place on Saturday June 15 in the Elms Library. Over 100 people, including Irish Consul General Michael Lonergan, came to honor Mike, and hear Jerry Hayes tell the story. ICC President Sean Cahillane hosted the event which was co-sponsored by the Irish Cultural Center and John Boyle O’Reilly Club. If anyone is interested in purchasing Mike’s book, please call the Center.

By Mary Ellen Lowney