Celtic Studies Commons^™

Saint Brigit And Her Habits: Exploring Queerness In Early Medieval Ireland, Jacqueline K. Stephenson

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Saint Brigit's behavior and reception by society highlight an avenue by which women in the early medieval period could escape societal strictures, exercising agency over their bodies and their romantic choices, and carve out a distinct and unexpected place for themselves in a Christian patriarchal society. In Saint Brigit’s case, this is especially demonstrated by the breadth of her portrayed power as not just a nun but a saint, her extreme resistance to marriage, and her frequent comparisons to men. Indeed, her hagiography, written by Cogitosus in the seventh century, positioned her as one of the three principal and earliest …

Compositional Practices In The Accompaniment Of Celtic Trad Music, Mason Taylor

Composition/Recording Projects

n this research paper, I look at how traditional Irish folk musicians—“Trad” as it is commonly referred to by musicians in the style––approach, think of, and perform accompaniment, specifically the contrapuntal style that is common amongst mandolin and bouzouki players. Trad has evolved greatly over the years. Originally, Trad was performed without any form of accompaniment—no guitar, no piano, no cello. Many solo instruments, such as the flute and the fiddle, would play the same melody with the only harmony occurring at moments where performers would momentarily diverge from the melody with an improvised ornament. Somewhere along its varied history, …

The Shanachie, Volume 33, Number 3, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

In this issue: Theater presents musical on career of ace softball pitcher Joan Joyce -- The railroad era and an Irish family -- Lyons family immigrated to Connecticut by way of Quebec -- Plumber with Leitrim roots linked to New Haven Fenians -- Collection of Irish railroad wife's writings preserved at UConn.

The Shanachie, Volume 33, Number 2, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

In this issue: Pandemic squelches parades, but spirit of St. Patrick lives on --Hartford: First church bought in 1829, St. Patrick's built in 1849 -- Enfield: Irish priests, nuns and laypersons -- Litchfield County: St. Patrick's, St. Bridget's, St. Columcille's -- New London County: St. Patrick's Cathedral -- Mystic: High Street became Irish Hill -- Fairfield County: St. Augustine and St. Patrick team up; The little church on the Redding Ridge since 1880 -- Hartford County: Collinsville began with a snowstorm -- Middlesex County: St. Patrick and St. Bridget of Kildare -- Farmington: St. Patrick's parish prepares for a second …

The Shanachie, Volume 33, Number 1, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

In this issue: Irish wolfhounds among New England’s earliest settlers -- Please join us for yet another year of Irish history and culture (SHU Digital Commons) -- An Irish actor, his playwright son and a Connecticut landmark -- Civil rights champion for Cape Cod Indians.

The Poetry Of History: Irish National Imagination Through Mythology And Materiality, Ryan Fay

English Honors Theses

The thesis culminates in the twentieth century and yet it begins with the Ulster Cycle, a period of Irish mythological history that occurred around the first century common era. Indeed, since the time frame was before the arrival of the Gaels, Normans, or Christianity, the extent of this mythology’s relevance today is whatever extent it is conceptualized as “Irish.” As such, the first chapter locks onto an aspect that could feasibly transcend time and resonate with modern Irish society: gender. Of course, the epistemological dynamics of gender^[1] in the first-century common era are vastly different than the twentieth century …

The Shanachie, Volume 32, Number 2, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

In this issue: The 1918 Influeza Pandemic; Think what it must have been like in 1918; War-weary world beset by even more deadly illness; Military camps were breeding places of influenza; Connecticut toll; Plague entered state through seaport of New London; Hopelessly in the grip; School becomes hospital; Shortage of coal, cars, phone operators. Editor's note: This issue of The Shanachie is devoted entirely to recollections of Connecticut in 1918-1919 when Americans dealt with two huge tragedies: World War I and the misnamed “Spanish” Flu Epidemic. They were able to deal with that by declaring and meaning, “we are all …

The Shanachie, Volume 32, Number 4, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

In this issue: A tale of two Thanksgivings; Irish Christmas; Tales of Thanksgivings in Plymouth and in Bridgeport; Christmas on a farm in Ireland in the 1940s; Family of 13 immigrated at holiday time; Irish recipes from a Belfast grandmother; Irish Santa Claus spread cheer for 40 years; Memories of a Christmas spent in occupied Germany.

Handing Down The Heritage: Preserving Irish Diasporic Identities In The Festival City Of Montana, Margaret Mary Walsh

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Butte, Montana is a tough, historic industrial town in western Montana known for its mining, its Irish, and strangely, its festivals. The city boasts countless parades and community events each year for a variety of holidays as well as for showcases of traditions and ethnic pride. Three celebrations in particular, St. Patrick’s Day, Fourth of July, and An Rí Rá, attract visitors from all over the country – and world – who seek to experience the enthusiasm and splendor of these celebrations. So, what can these popular celebrations in Montana’s Festival City, Butte, reveal about the Irish community living there? …

The Shanachie, Volume 31, Number 2, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

Connecticut and the Irish Great Hunger of 1845-1850 --Puritan humanitarian & priest aided Connecticut relief effort --Tidal wave of emigrants fled to Land of Steady Habits --Irish provided manpower for state’s industrial revolution --Irish women in demand as domestic servants --Refugees brought Catholic faith with them --Families shattered in headlong flight from starvation.

The Shanachie, Volume 30, Number 4, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

This 16-page issue of our newsletter commemorates the 100th anniversary of the armistice which ended World War I just 100 years ago.

Contents: Connecticut's Irish in World War I --Hartford Red Cross nurse served amid bombardments --Sgt. Stubby and Cpl. Conroy went off to war --With roots in Canada, Lafferty got into the fight early --Picketing White House in wartime: patriotic or treason? --Ansonia native among nation’s first female sailors --Medals and monument honor Fair Haven Irish lads --Daring young men in their flying machines --Knights of Columbus offered soup and solace for friend and foe alike --Sailor from Roscommon …

The Shanachie, Volume 30, Number 3, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

Coventry sculptor David Hayes created rich legacy of artwork --Michael Carver's sacrifice in the Civil War provided a pension for his widowed mother in Norwich --Clare man Thomas Donnellan "Tom the ferryman" was a legend on the Connecticut River.

The Shanachie, Volume 28, Number 1, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

This issue is titled Ireland, Connecticut and the Easter Rising.

The Shanachie, Volume 28, Number 2, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

Neil Hogan and Patrick J. Mahoney have co-authored a book that commemorates the role of Connecticut in Ireland’s long struggle for independence: ‘From a land beyond the wave,’ Connecticut’s Irish Rebels, 1798-1916.’

Also in this issue a couple of fascinating family trees: Traceys, an Irish doctor's dynasty in Norwalk and The Fords: 85 descendants rediscover clan roots.

"Without Blinding Darkness": The Imagery Of Divine Light In "Nauigatio Sancti Brendani", Darcy Ireland

Theology Student Scholarship

The motif of divine light is prominent in such early medieval Irish and Latin texts as Adomnán’s Life of Columba (Vita Columbæ), Vision of Saint Paul (Visio Sancti Pauli), and the Life of Brendan (Betha Brenainn). The symbol of divine light, a featured device in the Scriptures intended to emphasize the manifestation of the supernatural, if not the presence of the holy Spirit itself, is typically discussed by the patristic writers. In turn, the use of divine light in the Scriptures and the patristic writers influenced the texts of Christianity in early medieval Ireland, …

The Shanachie, Volume 27, Number 1, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

This issue is titled "A Treasure Trove of Connecticut Irish History from the 1870s ." A rich vein of grassroots historical information about Connecticut’s Irish people in the 1870s can be found in the archives of a weekly newspaper — The Irish-American — that was published in New York City from 1849 until 1915.

Foreword To 'Memoir' By Journalist And Writer Tomás Bairéad, Ian Kilroy

Books/Book Chapters

Foreword to A Memoir of Ireland’s Nascent Years, by Irish language journalist and writer Tomás Bairéad (translated and edited by Mícheál Ó hAodha). Forthcoming from The Edwin Mellen Press, New York. Tomás Bairéad (1893-1973) is well known for a number of collections of short stories in Irish. He invented a version of short-hand for the Irish language. From Moycullen, Co Galway, he was involved in the Irish War of Independence and covered the Irish Civil War as a journalist. He edited the Irish language page in the Irish Independent for a number of years.

The Shanachie, Volume 26, Number 4, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

For more than 300 years, the most compelling reason that caused Irish people of all origins and religions to come in large numbers to the American colonies and the United States was economic opportunity. More simply: jobs. While the Irish are usually labeled as canal builders and domestic servants, a more accurate reading is that they were Jacks and Jills of all trades. In a young nation that was expanding geographically and economically, there was a constant need for workers. The Irish were able and willing. This issue of The Shanachie demonstrates the kind of fascinating information that is available …

The Shanachie Index 1989-2008, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

The Shanachie (CTIAHS)

No abstract provided.

Cry Of The Famishing: Ireland, Connecticut And The Potato Famine, Neil Hogan, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society Monographs (CTIAHS)

Cry of the Famishing focuses on the relationship between the Famine in Ireland and the state of Connecticut. Includes why and where Irish emigrants settled in Connecticut, the jobs they held, conflicts that arose between the Yankees and the Irish newcomers, and individual stories of some of the Famine Irish in Connecticut. Illustrated with Famine drawings from newspapers and periodicals of the 1840s and 1850s.

Wearin' O' The Green: St. Patrick's Day In New Haven, Connecticut 1842-1992, Neil Hogan, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society

Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society Monographs (CTIAHS)

The story of St. Patrick's Day as celebrated in New Haven. The book conveys the pride, joy, patriotism, conviviality, devotion and even homesickness for Ireland that have inspired New Haven's Irish Americans to make this day an important community folk festival.