Glucksman Ireland House, NYU

Spring 2012 Events Calendar

Glucksman Ireland House NYU presents our Spring 2012 calendar of events with support from:

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• Past Events

1. January

   1. Friday, January 27th at 9pm: The Blarney Star Concert Series:
      The Bog Band

      

      The Bog Band is an outstanding group of young musicians based in the Baltimore area. Group leader and fiddler Mitch Fanning will be joined by uilleann piper and flute player Patrick Armstrong, guitarist Conor Hearn and other members of the band.

2. February

   1. Thursday, February 2nd at 7pm: Photographer Alen MacWeeney shares
      Irish Traveller culture of the 1960s

      

      Renowned photographer Alen MacWeeney shares his photographs and recordings of music and stories from his deep involvement with the Irish Traveller community from 1965 to 1971 with a multimedia presentation. Colloquial Traveller stories are brought to life with a reading by actress Aedin Moloney.

   2. Thursday, February 9th at 7pm: Tim McGrath discusses
      "First among Captains:
      the Life and Times of Commodore John Barry"

      

      Known as "the Father of the American Navy," John Barry's story is a saga of storms at sea, the smoke of battle, political intrigue, and family crises, taking place in Ireland under the draconian Penal Laws, exotic China, and the rough and tumble birth of the United States.

   3. Friday, February 10th 9pm: The Blarney Star Concert Series:
      Jesse Smith and Ryan McGiver

      

      Jesse Smith is a veteran of the Baltimore Irish music scene and one of the world's great younger Irish fiddlers. He'll get appropriately virtuosic accompaniment from guitarist Ryan McGiver.

   4. Thursday, February 16th 7pm: Irish and Native American poets
      launch Willow's Whisper

      

      Celebrate two unique poetic traditions with a glimpse of where they meet and diverge. Irish poets Colm Breathnach, Proinsias Mac a'Bhaird and Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh, and notable Indigenous American poets Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, Odi Gonzales and Travis Hedge Coke read excerpts of their poetry from the compilation The Willow's Whisper, edited by Jill M. O'Mahony. Presented with the support of Culture Ireland.

   5. Thursday, February 23rd at 7pm: Jim Tully: American Writer,
      Irish Rover, Hollywood Brawler

      

      Biographers Mark Dawidziak and Paul Bauer present the remarkable life of Jim Tully (1886-1947). Son of an Irish ditch-digger, Tully was a young hobo inspired to go on to write a stream of critically-acclaimed books and launch a journalism career in Golden Age Hollywood.

   6. Saturday, February 25th 1 to 6pm: Irish Language Song Workshop

      

      Senior Irish Language Lecturer Pádraig Ó Cearúill and professional singer Ashley Davis keep learning Irish fun by teaching language through songs in this day-long workshop. Free.

3. March

   1. Thursday, March 1st at 7pm: Poet Nell Regan reads from her recent work

      

      Dublin-based poet Nell Regan's reads from her new work following a debut volume that was shortlisted for major awards and read at the White House. Regan spent Fall 2011 as Fulbright scholar. Co-sponsored with the NYU Creative Writing Program.

   2. Tuesday, March 6th at 7:30pm: Writer Peter Behrens launches his new novel,
      The O'Briens

      Venue:

      Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street

      

      Peter Behrens, author of The Law of Dreams, reads from his new, critically acclaimed novel, The O'Briens, the story of a family moving through history told with epic precision and wondrous imagination. Co-sponsored with the Irish Arts Center and the Consulate General of Canada. Tickets are now fully reserved.

   3. Friday, March 9th at 9pm: Blarney Star Concert Series:
      Michael Cooney and Willie Kelly

      

      Tipperary-born uilleann piper Michael Cooney became well known partnering with button accordion great Joe Burke; his recent solo CDs are solid proof that he is among the finest pipers of our time. New Jersey fiddler Willie Kelly's old-fashioned East Clare / East Galway style blends well with Michael's.

   4. Saturday, March 10th at 12pm: Irish-Language Mass at Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral
      On Mott Street between Prince and Houston streets

      

      For the fifth consecutive year, the New York Irish History Roundtable, Glucksman Ireland House NYU, and the Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral will celebrate an Irish-language Mass.

   5. Thursday, March 15th at 8pm: Celtic Appalachia:
      The Wondrous Story of Irish and African Influences on Old Time American, Country, and Bluegrass Music

      

      Join NYU Irish Studies Professor Mick Moloney for a real toe-tapping, knee-slapping, singing and dancing fête celebrating the Irish traditional music influences on old time American, country and bluegrass music.

   6. Thursday, March 22nd at 7pm: This Is Your Brain on Shamrocks

      

      Irish Voice and IrishCentral.com columnist Mike Farragher reads from This Is Your Brain on Shamrocks, his warm, witty, and irreverent collection of essays. Mike will not only read select essays from the book and discuss the creative writing process, he will also bring along Galway native and blues guitarist Seamus Kelleher to create an unforgettable evening of Irish songs and stories!

   7. Saturday, March 24th 1 to 5pm: Lá na Gaeilge: Irish Language Day

      

      Discover the Irish language in a program designed for learners of all levels, led by NYU Irish Studies Language Lecturers Pádraig Ó Cearúill and Hilary Mhic Suibhne. Free.

   8. Saturday, March 24th at 7pm: Barra Ó Donnabháin Lecture:
      An Stair Nach N-Instear: Éire na Gaeilge;
      or, the Untold History of Ireland

      

      Prof. Alan Titley of University College Cork examines the way in which the Irish language has been largely ignored in the histories of Ireland and how our version of Ireland might be quite different if Irish-language sources were utilized fully. Bilingual. Free.

   9. Thursday, March 29th at 7pm: The Prizefighter and the Playwright:
      Gene Tunney and George Bernard Shaw

      

      With The Prizefighter and the Playwright: Gene Tunney and George Bernard Shaw, Jay R. Tunney chronicles the unusual friendship between the world heavyweight-boxing champion and the world-famous playwright.

4. April

   1. Tuesday, April 10th at 7pm: 1916 Seachtar na Cásca: Patrick Pearse

      

      On the occasion of the 96th anniversary of the Easter Rising, screenings of the major seven-part historical documentary series Seachtar na Cásca are being hosted by a number of institutions including Glucksman Ireland House NYU, where the seventh episode will be presented.

   2. Thursday, April 12th at 7pm: W. B. Yeats's Manuscripts and the Rehumanizing of Literary Studies

      

      Phillip L. Marcus, Professor Emeritus of English at Cornell University and Professor of English at Florida International University, presents a talk based on his thirty-three years' experience as co-General Editor of the Cornell Yeats Series, a 32-volume edition of the manuscripts of Yeats's poetry and plays.

   3. Friday, April 13th at 9pm: The Blarney Star Concert Series:
      Rick Epping and Christy McNamara

      

      Due to circumstances beyond our control, the concert with Rick Epping and Christy McNamara is cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience and invite you to join us for a concert with Robbie O'Connell and Dan Milner on May 4th.

   4. Saturday, April 14th 10am to 5pm: Taste of the Yeats Summer School

      

      Every summer, aficionados of the poet William Butler Yeats come from all over the world to enjoy two weeks of lectures, readings and theater in Sligo, Ireland, and to tour nearby "Yeats Country." Here is an opportunity to sample the Yeats International Summer School for a day in New York. Along with a full day of programs, we'll have information on the 53rd Summer School.

   5. Thursday, April 19th at 7pm: Making Ireland English:
      How the Aristocracy Shaped
      Seventeenth-Century Ireland

      

      Prof. Jane Ohlmeyer of Trinity College Dublin looks at how the aristocracy helped make Ireland English during the seventeenth century through a series of complex and, at times contradictory, stories of ruthless self-aggrandizement, of pragmatic assimilation and mutation, and of dogged determination.

   6. Saturday, April 21st at 8am: European Certificate in Irish Language Examination B2

      

      This is a certification scheme developed by The Language Center at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth for adult learners of Irish to measure their progress. It is linked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (Council of Europe, 2001). The tests provide a benchmark offering six levels in the system of certification for learners within and outside formal academic environments. The test on this date is for Level B2.

   7. Saturday, April 21st 10am to 6pm: "Who Do We Think We Are? Economics Family-Style"

      

      Writers, artists, and scholars explore the economics of the Irish and Irish-American family. Speakers discuss how finances influenced family decisions regarding emigration, marriage, and property, and how these in turn affected the wider community. Best-selling author Mary Higgins Clark shares a keynote talk about her family's experience. See event page for full lineup and ticketing info.

   8. Thursday, April 26th at 7pm: Airneál na Bealtaine

      

      Pádraig Ó Cearúill hosts an evening of traditional music and song with NYU students and local musicians, including The Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra. Free.

   9. Friday, April 27th 11am to 6pm: Mary Lavin Remembered

      

      Irish short story writer and novelist Mary Lavin (1912-1996) was a pioneer in the world of Irish letters, gaining recognition with The New Yorker, the Katherine Mansfield Prize, and Guggenheim Fellowships. Speakers include writers Mary Gordon, Greg Londe, James Ryan, and Colm Tóibín.

   10. Friday, April 27th 7:30pm: What's Irish About Irish Culture?

       

       Fintan O'Toole, Assistant Editor, columnist and feature writer for The Irish Times and Leonard L. Milberg '53 Visiting Lecturer in Irish Letters at Princeton University will examine the evolving presentation and perceptions of Irish Culture in this talk as part of inter-changes: Irish language teachers' workshop organised by the Fulbright Commission in Ireland.

   11. Saturday, April 28th at 8am: European Certificate in Irish Language Examination B1

       

       The Language Center at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, has cancelled Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge exam level B1 in New York. We apologize for this inconvenience and invite you to register for next year's exam. Please check back to this website next winter for registration information. Go raibh maith agaibh.

5. May

   1. Thursday, May 3rd at 7pm: Writer Hugo Hamilton reads

      

      Hugo Hamilton, Villanova's current Heimbold Chairholder and author of the best selling memoir, The Speckled People, grew up with three languages — English, Irish, and German — and a sense of never really belonging to any one language or ethnic group. This acclaimed journalist and fiction writer will discuss place, craft, and language with Fernando Fernández-Savater Martín, one of Spain's most popular living philosophers, as well as an essayist and celebrated author.

   2. Friday, May 4th at 9pm: Blarney Star Concert Series:
      Robbie O'Connell and Dan Milner

      

      Robbie O'Connell grew up singing with his uncles, the famous Clancy Brothers, and went on to forge a mighty reputation on his own. Long-time New Yorker Dan Milner is a walking encyclopedia of Irish and maritime song.

   3. Tuesday, May 8th at 7pm: "Mondays" [Tuesday] of May

      

      Origin theatre company returns for the eighth annual reading series with four works by contemporary European playwrights. Check back to this website for lineup.

   4. Thursday, May 10th 5:30 to 8:00pm: Glucksman Ireland House Economic Forum:
      Economic Recovery in Ireland: Status, Outlook, and Opportunities

      

      This forum brings together major figures in Irish and American government, finance, and business to analyze and discuss economic initiatives taken and those proposed for the future. Wilbur Ross delivers key note followed by panel discussion with Standish CEO Desmond MacIntyre and NYU Stern's Prof. Nicolas Economides. Reception to follow. Tickets required.

   5. Saturday, May 12th at 9am: European Certificate in Irish Language Examination A2

      

      The Language Center at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, has cancelled Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge exam level A2 in New York. We apologize for this inconvenience and invite you to register for next year's exam. Please check back to this website next winter for registration information. Go raibh maith agaibh.

   6. Monday, May 14th at 7pm: Mondays of May

      

      Origin Theatre Company, in association with Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò and Kairos Italy Theater, celebrates Ennio Flaiano on the 40th anniversary of his death with the reading of The Woman In The Wardrobe (La Donna Nell'Armadio)

      In association with Glucksman Ireland House NYU, Mondays of May is part of Origin Theatre Company's eighth annual reading series, presenting four works by contemporary European playwrights.

   7. Monday, May 21st at 7pm: Mondays of May

      

      Origin Theatre Company returns to Glucksman Ireland House NYU with Mondays of May, the eighth annual reading series, presenting four works by contemporary European playwrights.

      David Greig's 2002 play Outlying Islands, is one of the most successful ever staged by the Traverse Theatre during an Edinburgh Festival. Greig has written for the Traverse Theatre, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and both National Theatres, in London and Scotland.

   8. Saturday, May 26th at 9am: European Certificate in Irish Language Examination A1

      

      This is a certification scheme developed by The Language Center at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth for adult learners of Irish to measure their progress. It is linked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (Council of Europe, 2001). The tests provide a benchmark offering six levels in the system of certification for learners within and outside formal academic environments. The test on this date is for Level A1.

   9. Monday, May 28th at 7pm: Mondays of May

      

      Origin Theatre Company returns to Glucksman Ireland House NYU with Mondays of May, the eighth annual reading series, presenting four works by contemporary European playwrights.

      "Nancy Harris's smart and endearing No Romance runs roughshod over what were once delicate taboos, putting front and centre issues of sexuality and desire in an Ireland that has, needless to say, changed utterly in the past few decades."
      —Jesse Weaver, Irish Theatre Magazine

6. June

   1. Friday, June 1st at 9pm: The Blarney Star Concert Series:
      Marie Reilly and Gabriel Donohue

      

      Fiddler Marie Reilly recently released The Anvil, a CD devoted to tunes from south County Leitrim and neighboring County Longford, a region with a distinctive fiddling tradition passed down through at least eight generations. Marie learned many of the tunes on the recording from her late father Michael, a fiddling blacksmith (hence the CD title), and others from 19th- and 20th-century manuscripts of local Leitrim/Longford musicians. She will be accompanied at this concert, as on the recording, by the multi-talented guitarist, pianist and singer Gabriel Donohue.