Past Irish History Round Tables

President of the Elms Cairde [ www.irish-cairde.org ], Chip Costello presented a personal look at the efforts of a latter generational Irishman to learn the language of his forebears. A son of Killorglin, Co. Kerry, Chip found that link to his past he was looking for when he enrolled in an Irish Language course. He took us along on his own trials and triumphs from the book Irish to two weeks total immersion in the Kerry Gaeltacht. He then presented us with tools and methods should we choose to take up the gauntlet and garner the "cupla focail".

Maith thú, an tUasal MacOisdealbhaigh!

In 1862, during the US Civil War, the plan of the Union was to dig a canal in a Mississippi River oxbow beyond Vicksburg to bypass Confederate batteries. Connecticut’s Irish Regiment began to dig, but conditions and disease nearly wiped out the men. Bob Larkin (New Haven IHRT, Hartford Civil War Round Table  www.htfdcivilwarroundtable.org  ) was the driving force behind the erecting of a monument to the Ninth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers in honor of their efforts in the Union siege on Vicksburg. He told us the story of the regiment, and the lives of the men before and after their time spent in service. He also brought a model of the structure residing in Vicksburg National Park.

In the 60s, along with the Clancy Brothers, Makem charmed Irish music into the heart of America with his animated and exuberant style. With his musicianship and integrity, he vaulted Irish music and culture beyond the Tin Pan Alley trap it had been limited to for so long, and had it recognized for the fierce, live thing it had always been and should always be.

Sheri Mortimer visited us to tell how he did this, and interspersed Makem's story with anecdotes of her personal relationship with the Bard of Armagh. She also performed many of his multitude of songs.

The Irish History Round Table begins the New Year with a look back at the Blasket Islands. Springfield native, Prof. Tom Shea (UConn-Hartford), originator of the "Blasket Writers" course at UConn, will relate the research he's done thus far on these astounding authors, with a focus on "The Islandman" scribe, Thomas OCrohan. Shea has just returned from a conference in Dunquin that featured several talks focusing on the Springfield bonds of the islands. Much local interest.

Founders of the Titanic Historical Society and curators of the Titanic Museum down the road in Indian Orchard, the Kamudas revealed a thorough look at the tragedy of Belfast's Harland & Wolf's most famous liner. Long association with many of the ship's survivors provided the Kamudas with a detailed inside look at the stories of and behind the ill-fated Titanic.

As a young man in 1981, Gannon gained possession of a US press pass and hit the streets of Belfast to see the situation on the ground. He gained incredible access to the movers and shakers of that stressful time, for a unique and up-close perspective. Gannon presented an earnest talk on the 25th anniversary and gave a heartfelt roll-call of the martyrs at his finish.