New Perspectives on the Irish Abroad

The Silent People?

Contributions by David Convery, Barry Crosbie, Paul Darby, Juan José Delaney, Stephen Moore, Jason R. Myers, Sarah O'Brien, Gráinne OKeeffe-Vigneron, Bernadette Sweeney, Bill Tobin Edited by Mícheál Ó hAodha, Máirtín Ó Catháin

Publication date:

25 March 2014

Length of book:

190 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739183717

The relationship between Ireland and the diversity of its diasporas has always been complex and multi-layered, but it is not until recently that this reality has really been acknowledged in the public sphere and indeed, amongst the scholarly community generally. This reality is partly a consequence of both “push-and-pull” factors and the relatively late arrival of globalization trends to the island of Ireland itself, situated as it is on the Atlantic seaboard between Europe and the US. Ireland is changing however, some would say at an unprecedented speed as compared with many of its neighbours, and the sense of Irish identity and connection to the home country is changing too. What is the relationship of Ireland and the Irish with its diaspora communities and how is this articulated? The voices who speak in New Perspectives on the Irish Abroad: The Silent People?, edited by Mícheál Ó hAodha and Máirtín Ó Catháin, “talk back” to Ireland and Ireland talks to them, and it is in telling that we see a new story, an emerging discourse—the narratives of the “hidden” Irish, the migrant Irish, the diaspora whose voices and refrains were hitherto neglected or subject to silence.

Introduction

Part 1: Voices

Chapter 1: Performing Exile: Oral Histories of Montana’s Irish
Bernadette SweeneyChapter 2: Patrick and Kathleen
Bill TobinChapter 3: Irish Nuns and Artichokes-The Experiences of Irish Women Religious in a French Order
Gráinne O’Keeffe-Vigneron
Chapter 4: The Gaelic Athletic Association and the Irish Diaspora in London
Stephen Moore and Paul Darby

Chapter 5: Politics, Community and Nationhood in Irish–Argentine Oral Narrative, 2010-2012
Sarah O’Brien

Part 2: Places

Chapter 6: Imperial Greenhorns: The Irish in India, c.1758-1922
Barry Crosbie

Chapter 7: Keeping the Old Country Alive: Cultural Connections between Chicago and Ireland,1900-1933
Jason R. Myers

Chapter 8: Revolutionary Internationalists: Irish emigrants in the Spanish Civil War
David Convery

Chapter 9: Irish-Porteño Literature
Juan José Delaney

Methodologically, this book demonstrates the value of oral history scholarship and archival analysis in unveiling migrant subjectivities and memories. The two editors successfully draw together nine very different but equally engaging chapters that provide stimulating, accessible and varied snapshots into the experiences, emotions and identities of the diasporic Irish.... The rich diversity of the Irish diasporic experience and the fluidity of their ethnic and cultural identities brought about by this book is truly amazing and inspirational to anyone who is interested in the study of migration and globalization. As a whole, it provides the reader with a kaleidoscope of voices, images and stories of people coming from various walks of life....This excellent volume is of great interest to specialists working on Irish diaspora, and will be a useful reference book for postgraduate and undergraduate students studying Irish history and transnational migration in general. It opens up many exciting avenues for future research.