Irish-Americans’ Influence in U.S. Explored at Conference

09/22/2014

Contacts for media:   Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

* Media Advisory *

Wednesday, Sept. 24 through Friday, Sept. 26

What: Former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan will be among the participants to discuss Irish immigrants’ contributions to American life during a three-day conference presented by UMass Lowell and Queen’s University Belfast.

“Irish in Massachusetts: Historical Significance, Lasting Legacy” will explore Irish-Americans’ efforts to settle New England and their influence on U.S. culture and politics. Historians, artists, archaeologists and lawmakers will talk about the reasons behind Irish immigration since the 1600s and the people’s achievements in music, literature, sports, politics and more. The information and artifacts presented at the conference will be the basis for a permanent Irish-American history exhibit in Lowell. For conference details, visit (http://www.uml.edu/international-programs/Irish/Irish-in-Massachusetts/) www.uml.edu/international-programs/Irish/Irish-in-Massachusetts/.

Programs include:

• Irish-Americans in Politics – Flynn, who also served as a U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, and Kennedy Townsend will join in a roundtable discussion moderated by UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan, who represented the Merrimack Valley in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2007. His role at the university includes teaching a course on Congress at UMass Lowell. Friday, Sept. 26, 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

• The Irish in Lowell – This session will showcase how Irish immigrants helped build the city’s canals, which powered the textile mills that gave rise to the Industrial Revolution. On exhibit will be artifacts unearthed during archaeological digs in Lowell and Northern Ireland by UMass Lowell and Queen’s University Belfast researchers and students that help tell the story behind the canals and trace the evolution of Lowell’s “Irish Acre” neighborhood. Friday, Sept. 26, 9 to 11 a.m.

• An Evening of Music and Song - Brian O’Donovan of WGBH-FM’s “Celtic Sojourn” will talk about the importance of music in Irish culture at the Old Court Irish Pub and Restaurant, 29-31 Central St., Lowell. The five-piece band Traditional Brew will also perform. Thursday, Sept. 25, 5:15 to 8 p.m. 

Where:  UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell.