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In Fall 2005 Glucksman Ireland House at New York University implemented a new undergraduate course for its Irish Studies program to create oral histories for the Archives of Irish America. Using a small seminar format that meets once a week for two hours, the course offers students hands-on experience in the skills and techniques involved in conducting oral history interviews, as well as practice in writing an archival finding aid and in editorial decision-making for public history projects. For the course syllabus, visit Glucksman Ireland House's website at http://irelandhouse.fas.nyu.edu/page/oralhistoryproject.
While the long term goal of the Ireland House Oral History Project is to record the experiences of a wide range of people of Irish-American ancestry in order to capture a cross section of memories, the immediate purpose in its initial semesters was to interview those who have made, or are making, key contributions in the areas of culture, education, religion, media, business, government, and the professions. As part of an individual's life history, these interviews focus on how (or indeed if) one's experience has been influenced by, or influenced, a sense of ethnic identity. The project aims to enhance our knowledge and understanding of a phenomenon that becomes increasingly elusive beyond the first generation immigrant, but which remains hugely important for the understanding of America. To hear excerpts from the Ireland House Oral History Collection, click on any of the links below.
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Sean Benson (b. 1960),
AXA technical specialist, one of the organizers of the Irish Immigration
Reform Movement, former Executive Director of the Emerald Isle Immigration
Center and a member of its board |
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Bridget Cagney (b. 1937), retired program analyst for the Institute of International Education and member of "Point Thank You," a post-9/11 support group in New York City |
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Fr. Colm Campbell (b. 1935), Executive Director of the New York Irish Center in Long Island City, former Director of the Irish Apostolate USA, and former Director of Youth Services for the Diocese of Down and Connor in Northern Ireland |
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Noreen M. Culhane (born 1950), an Executive Vice President at the New York Stock Exchange
and the 1970 New York Rose of Tralee
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Joan Dolan (b. 1937), former McNiff dancer, founding member of the Bedford (NY) Ceili group, and wife of Irish traditional pianist Felix Dolan |
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John J. Fallon
(b. 1919), retired principal of Bay Ridge High School and former
president of the American Irish Teachers Association |
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Donald Kelly (b. 1935), retired Senior Vice President of Emigrant Savings Bank and President of the Executive Committee of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center |
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Thomas Kelly (b. 1960), author of Payback,
The Rackets, and Empire Rising |
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Peter T. King (b. 1944), Republican Congressman
from Long Island
and one of the architects of the Northern Ireland peace process
in the 1990s |
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Brian A. McAllister
(b. 1932), president of McAllister Towing & Transport, a tugboat firm operating on the Eastern seaboard but principally
in New York harbor |
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Mae O’Driscoll (b. 1939), retired Assistant
Vice President of the facilities management department for J.P.
Morgan Chase, one of the organizers of the Irish Immigration Reform
Movement, and a Trustee and Secretary of the Executive Committee
of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center |
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James E. Rooney (b. 1967), director of FirstLink at the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence, Katz Graduate School of Business, and grandson of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney |
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Fr. Gerald J. Ryan (b. 1920), pastor of St. Luke’s
R.C. Church in the South Bronx and the longest serving pastor in
the Archdiocese of New York |
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Eithne Golden Sax (b. 1919), retired multilingual translator for the United Nations, daughter of Irish nationalist organizer Peter Golden, and pupil of Irish republican author Ernie O’Malley |
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Robert J. Scally (b. 1937), retired Professor
of History, New York University and inaugural Director, Glucksman
Ireland House, New York University |
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John E. Sexton (b.
1942), President of New York University and former Dean of its School
of Law |
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