22nd Australasian Irish Studies Conference, Adelaide

The Irish Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand held its 22nd conference at Flinders University, Adelaide from 29 November to 2 December 2016. The keynote speakers were Professor David Fitzpatrick (Trinity College Dublin), Professor Melanie Oppenheimer (Flinders University) and Dr Maggie Ivanova (Flinders University). Numerous other papers were given on various topics under the common theme of “Change, Commemoration, Community”.… Read the rest

21st Australasian Irish Studies Conference

The 21st Australasian Irish Studies conference will be held at Maynooth University from 18 to 20 June 2015. The conference series was initiated in 1980 by the renowned Irish historian Oliver MacDonagh. Keynote lectures will be given by distinguished scholars including Guy Beiner from Israel and the Irish scholars Margaret Kelleher and Terence Dooley. The strong international character of the conference is ensured as a result of proposals from Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Britain, the United States, Spain, Belgium, Serbia, Italy and Korea.… Read the rest

Searching for Irish-Australia in Canada

Next week I am off to North America to see what I can find out about Hugh Mahon’s time there from 1869 to 1880. Mahon, the Irish-Australian politician who is the subject of a biography I am researching was a 12 year old schoolboy when the family landed in New York City in March 1869. From there they travelled to Ontario, Canada, where they lived for four years on a farm in Oxford County before returning to New York State and settling in Albany, where Hugh trained as a printer and journalist.… Read the rest