Ireland's Great Famine in Irish-American History: Memory and Meaning

This is a NH Humanities event it is free and open to the public.

Presenter:  Mary C. Kelly

Ireland’s Great Famine arguably represents the cornerstone event in Irish-American immigrant history. The episode that began with the failure of successive potato crops in the mid-19th century mobilized an epic transatlantic voyage undertaken by almost two million Irish. This Famine floodtide duly transformed Irish immigrant settlement and the ethnic identity in America over the next century and beyond. Combining contemporary accounts with compelling illustrations and images, this presentation tracks the enduring impact of the Great Hunger and its ongoing significance within America’s Irish community. 

Mary C. Kelly, Ph.D., is Professor of History at Franklin Pierce University, where she has taught for twenty-five years. Her Masters in Modern Irish History is from University of Galway, in Ireland, and her Ph.D. in Modern American History is from Syracuse University. Her research explores Irish-American ethnic identity and the historical relationship with Ireland. She recently edited the book Navigating Historical Crosscurrents in the Irish Atlantic (Cork University Press, 2022), and also published Ireland's Great Famine in Irish American History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014) and The Shamrock and the Lily (Peter Lang, 2005). Professor Kelly was honored with the 2016 Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Committee Ambassador Award and a 2014 Keene State College President's Outstanding Women in New Hampshire Award. She hails from Westport, in County Mayo, in the west of Ireland.