Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Big Mountain Filming 'Genealogy Roadshow', Derek Mooney Hosts
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Big Mountain Filming 'Genealogy Roadshow', Derek Mooney Hosts=20

Production is currently underway on =91The Genealogy Roadshow=92, a new =
4 x 52
minute format from Big Mountain Productions which aims to uncover the
extraordinary family histories of ordinary people. The series is set to
shoot in Kildare, Meath, Limerick and Galway in May and June and is
presented by Derek Mooney (Winning Streak).

The show will enlist the help of a historical and genealogical swat team =
in
a bid to reveal the historical origins of members of the public. Several
stories from a range of ordinary people will be featured and =
investigated on
each episode following which a team of experts will determine whether =
the
interviewees are related to famous historical figures or if they have =
any
close connections to celebrated Irish historical events. Family =
mysteries
will also be investigated for certain members of the public and the =
experts
will also look to give audience members advice on how to track down a =
family
history.

The new format is due to be broadcast on RT=C9 One in mid-to-late =
August.
Produced and directed by Dhruba Banerjee (Who Do You Think You Are?,
Ireland=92s Greatest), =91The Genealogy Roadshow=92 is an original =
format created
by Jane Kelly and Philip McGovern of Big Mountain Productions.

The cameras are currently rolling and will be on location throughout =
over
the next few weeks. The series was commissioned by RTE=92s commissioning
editor for regional programmes, Ray McCarthy and the executive producer =
for
RT=C9 is John MacMahon. Editing on the series will be carried out by =
Piranha
Bar.

Big Mountain Productions are currently inviting applications for a =
Junior
Researcher to work with them on =91The Genealogy Roadshow=92, for more
information about the position click here

SOURCE
http://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=3Drecord&only=3D1&aid=3D73&rid=3D4283925&tp=
l=3Darchnews&
force=3D1

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Edward Hagan
Subject: Re: Obama's College Green Speech
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Kerby's experience in St. Louis is consistent with my "part for the whole" =
remarks about Yonkers. Andrew J. Wilson's 1995 book, Irish America and the=
Ulster Conflict, 1965-1995, makes the case pretty solidly that Irish-Ameri=
can support for any form of action in the North was tepid and supported by =
the few, not the many. There were a few guys in a few bars in a variety o=
f places, but they didn't raise much money or consciousness. It always ama=
zes me that the Brits and the "establishment" Irish keep raising the hobgob=
lin of the Irish-Americans, but the hobgoblin is a ghost.

I grew up in what was the largest Irish neighborhood in New York City--Inwo=
od in Upper Manhattan. But I can't say Kerby is right that such neighborho=
ods supported the IRA in their hey-days of the post-WWII era--up until 1980=
, perhaps. Nor do I think these people would have supported the IRA if subu=
rbanization had not occurred. (People from Inwood moved in huge numbers to=
Rockland County.) I would argue categorically that the IRA did not succee=
d in arousing the first and second generaton Irish in Inwood to much activi=
ty. I knew most of the people who were activists in the neighborhood, first=
for NAIF and later for Northern Aid, but they were not numerous. The neig=
hborhood was about 60% Irish, 30% Jewish, and 10% everyone else. (Like man=
y New Yorkers, I didn't know many Protestants when I was growing up.) The =
Irish activists were green with envy at the amazing ability of the Jewish p=
eople to rally support for Israel, first in the 1967 war, and then later du=
ring the Yom Kippur war. People were collecting money for Israel on virtua=
lly every major corner in the neighborhood. Nothing faintly resembling thi=
s happened even at moments of maximum stress about the North.

Irish-Americans had their sons in the U.S. military, serving in Vietnam. I=
knew at least 10 guys who were killed in Vietnam. I rarely run across an =
academic who even knows more than one or two. Military funerals were not u=
ncommon in the neighborhood.

And then, there was Democrats for Nixon in 1972--a major turn in the voting=
sympathies of the neighborhood which had gloried in the election of JFK.

The working class Irish were keen on the U.S. Marines. They might, if push=
ed, have described themselves as Irish nationalists, and they might have su=
ng rebel songs in bars, but that's about the size of it.

I agree with Kerby that modern America offered little that enticed the work=
ing class Irish, but their profound disillusionment probably drove them to =
the right in American politics, not to support for Irish nationalism in the=
North.

And, yes, the FBI was around...

Ed Hagan
________________________________________
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List [IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On Behalf Of Mi=
ller, Kerby A. [MillerK[at]MISSOURI.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 9:57 AM
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: Re: [IR-D] Obama's College Green Speech

Not sure about that. During the Troubles (1980s), I had Irish-American stu=
dents from St. Louis-some of them older students and (very disillusioned) V=
ietnam veterans. They were all pro-Irish Republican and said that their fa=
milies and friends were, also. However, they also said that they and other=
s like them had to keep very quiet about it, in part because they knew thei=
r sentiments weren't "respectable" or "US-patriotic," but also in large par=
t because of overt pressure: their employers, their parents' and friends' =
employers, etc., were visited by FBI (ironically, often Irish-Catholic-coll=
ege-trained) who gave "warnings" designed to encourage employers to fire or=
otherwise punish them for their activities. I have friends from working-c=
lass Dublin who were subjected to the same kinds of treatment, or worse, by=
the Garda; in fact, one reason they emigrated was because they'd been "bla=
cklisted" from decent jobs there. Maybe these people talk to me because I'=
m NOT "Irish"?

I would agree on one thing: the "establishments" on both sides of the ocea=
n, were fortunate that the massive Irish-American suburbanization of the 19=
50s and 1960s (which my former students and their families perceived as "wh=
ite flight") broke up the old working- and lower-middle-class Irish-America=
n neighborhoods, where support for Irish Republicanism was likely to be str=
ongest, and placed them in new suburban environments, where support for ("w=
hite-flight") US Republicanism would mushroom. My former students knew tha=
t, in a sense, they represented a dying or at least a transitional breed. =
"Modern" America made no sense to them: traditional "Irishness" did, but t=
enuously and under such overt and covert pressure that it was almost imposs=
ible to sustain, particularly in the face of politically and culturally pow=
erful new "myths", such as the one my friend Ed mentions (no support), whic=
h may eventually have become "reality."

Kerby


On 5/24/11 9:32 PM, "Edward Hagan" wrote:

Let me second what Jim and Vargo are saying. I might add that this myth ab=
out the Irish-American vote is a corollary of the fiction that Irish-Americ=
ans have supported the IRA for the last 40 years. A few guys in a bar in Y=
onkers were about the size of the support for the Provos, and they were rec=
ent immigrants from Tyrone and Armagh.

Ed Hagan

________________________________________
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List [IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On Behalf Of Ro=
gers, James S. [JROGERS[at]STTHOMAS.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 5:59 PM
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: Re: [IR-D] Obama's College Green Speech

Trina Vargo lately wrote in the Huffington Post that there is no Irish-Amer=
ican vote -- persuasively, I thought:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/trina-vargo/the-nonexistent-irish-ame_b_86367=
2.html


Jim Rogers

-----Original Message-----
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List [mailto:IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On Behal=
f Of Agata Piekosz
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 4:41 PM
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: Re: [IR-D] Obama's College Green Speech

I think I have to agree with Ultan.
I think he took all the stops to gain the Irish-American vote, that was ver=
y obvious (election coming up). Some of the speech seemed a little recycled
too: but he made an effort to make a connection with the Irish people, and =
it seemed to have worked: from what I overheard in the crowd.
Agata.

On Tue, May 24, 2011 at 8:11 PM, Sean Williams wrot=
e:

> I don't think it was intended to be perceived as a contest. I thought
> it was a great speech with a lot of nice insider references. The Queen
> had entirely different fish to fry (and a few centuries to answer
> for). Plus, he had to leave before the volcanic ash closed the airport!
> Sean Williams
>
>
> On May 24, 2011, at 9:52 AM, Ultan Cowley wrote:
>
> Stirring stuff, but pure electioneering; he gave his own campaign,
> and
>> Enda's popularity, a boost but the Queen put in the time and left a
>> real legacy on which much of lasting value can and will be built. No con=
test!
>>
>> Ultan Cowley
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Cian McMahon"
>> To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
>> Sent: Tuesday, 24 May, 2011 4:44:36 PM
>> Subject: [IR-D] Obama's College Green Speech
>>
>> For those who did not see it, here is a link to the full text of
>> Barack Obama's speech in College Green on Monday. Given its several
>> references to Irish migration, I thought the list members might get
>> some mileage out of it.
>>
>> http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0524/1224297638116.h
>> tml
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Cian McMahon
>>
>


--
*Agata Piekosz *M.A
PhD Candidate
Department of Sociology
University of Toronto

725 Spadina Avenue
Toronto, ON,M5S 2J4
Canada
Tel: 416.946.5883
Fax: 416.978.3963=

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "Thomas J. Archdeacon"
Subject: Re: Obama's College Green Speech
In-Reply-To:
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I agree with Ed Hagan's reading of the situation. I too grew up in New
York, but in Yorkville, an area of Manhattan that was being gentrified (not
by my family) in my youth. It was a more ethnically variegated neighborhood
than Inwood -- Germans, various Slavs, and Italians as well as Irish, but
the Irish were a substantial bloc. There was something of a romantic vision
of the old IRA that benefited the contemporary version of it, but that
attitude -- especially among Irish-Americans -- was a reflection of a lack
of in-depth involvement with Irish matters and a limited knowledge of Irish
history and politics. The actions consequent on that attitude were
similarly limited. A general sympathy with Irish nationalism of the 26 + 6
= 1 variety did exist; I wonder if that was in part the effect of the
immigrants who came in the years after Ireland's Civil War. My guess is
that anti-Treaty Irish were more likely to emigrate at that time; they may
have lost the war in Ireland, but their views won the peace in the U.S.

The overwhelming opinion on the list seems to be that there is no
Irish-American vote in the U.S. That would be clearly the case on the
national level. In local elections involving communities where a sizable
part of the population is of Irish descent, there may be the appearance of
an Irish vote, but it probably reflects shared the effects of socioeconomic
characteristics rather than of ethnicity. O'Bama's visit to Ireland may
have recalled for him his Chicago days; the Irish have historically had
political influence in that city beyond that merited by their share of the
population. Much of the Irishness of Chicago politics, however, is a
veneer. Chicago has been a multi-ethnic town politically since the 1930s,
but one in which the Daley clan exercised tremendous clout for decades.
With Richie now out as mayor and Rahm Emanuel in office, even the veneer may
fade.

I was personally never than convinced that the Celtic Tiger embodied
anything essential about the Irish economy. To me, the Irish seemed very
cocky about some probably transient circumstances that were working to their
advantage. Having made a few short visits to a variety of European
countries over the past two decades, I've consistently been struck at how
economically un-vibrant Ireland appeared in relation to a variety of
nations, including some , like Poland, that were sending people to Ireland
at the time. Those nations, however, looked poised to make rapid progress
and to surpass Ireland. Nevertheless, would it be true that the Irish, on
average, they are still better off than they were before the rise of the
Celtic Tiger?

Tom

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Steven Mccabe
Subject: Re: Obama's College Green Speech
In-Reply-To: A
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At the risk of taking the debate backwards, there is an interesting
resonance with my experience of growing up in Britain in the 1970s in
Britain. Whilst there was a tacit support for the plight of Northern
Irish Nationalist community from the almost exclusively Catholic Irish
in Britain, especially after Bloody Sunday, there was never any support
for the IRA or its methods. After the major outrages there was a
reluctance to even admit to being Irish. Whilst there may have been the
usual misty-eyed romanticism about 'the boys', this was done behind
closed doors. Indeed, I can recall being in a Catholic club in
Birmingham with my parents in the very early 1970s when there used to be
collections for the dependents of prisoners. After the Pub Bombings that
stopped and apart from the few diehards, no one wanted any connection to
Northern Ireland; a reason why it proved so hard to generate interest in
the plight of the so called 'Birmingham Six' who were jailed for the
atrocity. However, what does seem very different to the American
experience is that Irish parents did not want their children to join the
army or, to a lesser extent, the police. Some 30 years on it is now the
Muslim community who are treated with suspicion. =20

it's really heartening that everyone seems to have moved on in these
Islands (although there has been much debate about the embedded
sectarianism in Scotland - as indicated by problems associated with
football). What will be interesting in the aftermath of the recent
visits to Ireland by the Queen and Obama is whether there will be any
economic boom on the basis of going to peaceful Ireland? Perhaps, like
the Belfast peace tours, there can be visits to places of interest such
as where the 'architects' of the Celtic boom used to work or the ghost
estates where the newly enriched Irish could enjoy the fruits of the
never-to-end wealth. I guess that the half-finished houses and office
blocks are the symbolic grave of the Celtic Tiger.=20

As one Dublin sage interviewed about the recent visits on TV stated, he
would have more interest in a visit which would more fully make the
politicians, developers and bankers account for their actions which has
left everyone poorer (and in all-too-many cases destitute). As other
commentators through this list have suggested, Obama's speech was
intended to elicit Irish votes in America. Judging by the size of the
budget deficit to be inherited by the next American President (whoever
he or she is*), there are some really serious problems to be confronted.


Steven

*Surely it could not be someone as right-wing (or stupid) as Sarah
Palin, but I recall the derision with which Ronald Reagan's desire to
run for presidency was greet in the late 1970s!
-----Original Message-----
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List [mailto:IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On
Behalf Of Edward Hagan
Sent: 27 May 2011 01:04
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: Re: [IR-D] Obama's College Green Speech

Kerby's experience in St. Louis is consistent with my "part for the
whole" remarks about Yonkers. Andrew J. Wilson's 1995 book, Irish
America and the Ulster Conflict, 1965-1995, makes the case pretty
solidly that Irish-American support for any form of action in the North
was tepid and supported by the few, not the many. There were a few
guys in a few bars in a variety of places, but they didn't raise much
money or consciousness. It always amazes me that the Brits and the
"establishment" Irish keep raising the hobgoblin of the Irish-Americans,
but the hobgoblin is a ghost.

I grew up in what was the largest Irish neighborhood in New York
City--Inwood in Upper Manhattan. But I can't say Kerby is right that
such neighborhoods supported the IRA in their hey-days of the post-WWII
era--up until 1980, perhaps. Nor do I think these people would have
supported the IRA if suburbanization had not occurred. (People from
Inwood moved in huge numbers to Rockland County.) I would argue
categorically that the IRA did not succeed in arousing the first and
second generaton Irish in Inwood to much activity. I knew most of the
people who were activists in the neighborhood, first for NAIF and later
for Northern Aid, but they were not numerous. The neighborhood was
about 60% Irish, 30% Jewish, and 10% everyone else. (Like many New
Yorkers, I didn't know many Protestants when I was growing up.) The
Irish activists were green with envy at the amazing ability of the
Jewish people to rally support for Israel, first in the 1967 war, and
then later during the Yom Kippur war. People were collecting money for
Israel on virtually every major corner in the neighborhood. Nothing
faintly resembling this happened even at moments of maximum stress about
the North.

Irish-Americans had their sons in the U.S. military, serving in Vietnam.
I knew at least 10 guys who were killed in Vietnam. I rarely run across
an academic who even knows more than one or two. Military funerals were
not uncommon in the neighborhood.

And then, there was Democrats for Nixon in 1972--a major turn in the
voting sympathies of the neighborhood which had gloried in the election
of JFK.

The working class Irish were keen on the U.S. Marines. They might, if
pushed, have described themselves as Irish nationalists, and they might
have sung rebel songs in bars, but that's about the size of it.

I agree with Kerby that modern America offered little that enticed the
working class Irish, but their profound disillusionment probably drove
them to the right in American politics, not to support for Irish
nationalism in the North.

And, yes, the FBI was around...

Ed Hagan
________________________________________
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List [IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On Behalf Of
Miller, Kerby A. [MillerK[at]MISSOURI.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 9:57 AM
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: Re: [IR-D] Obama's College Green Speech

Not sure about that. During the Troubles (1980s), I had Irish-American
students from St. Louis-some of them older students and (very
disillusioned) Vietnam veterans. They were all pro-Irish Republican and
said that their families and friends were, also. However, they also
said that they and others like them had to keep very quiet about it, in
part because they knew their sentiments weren't "respectable" or
"US-patriotic," but also in large part because of overt pressure: their
employers, their parents' and friends' employers, etc., were visited by
FBI (ironically, often Irish-Catholic-college-trained) who gave
"warnings" designed to encourage employers to fire or otherwise punish
them for their activities. I have friends from working-class Dublin who
were subjected to the same kinds of treatment, or worse, by the Garda;
in fact, one reason they emigrated was because they'd been "blacklisted"
from decent jobs there. Maybe these people talk to me because I'm NOT
"Irish"?

I would agree on one thing: the "establishments" on both sides of the
ocean, were fortunate that the massive Irish-American suburbanization of
the 1950s and 1960s (which my former students and their families
perceived as "white flight") broke up the old working- and
lower-middle-class Irish-American neighborhoods, where support for Irish
Republicanism was likely to be strongest, and placed them in new
suburban environments, where support for ("white-flight") US
Republicanism would mushroom. My former students knew that, in a sense,
they represented a dying or at least a transitional breed. "Modern"
America made no sense to them: traditional "Irishness" did, but
tenuously and under such overt and covert pressure that it was almost
impossible to sustain, particularly in the face of politically and
culturally powerful new "myths", such as the one my friend Ed mentions
(no support), which may eventually have become "reality."

Kerby


On 5/24/11 9:32 PM, "Edward Hagan" wrote:

Let me second what Jim and Vargo are saying. I might add that this myth
about the Irish-American vote is a corollary of the fiction that
Irish-Americans have supported the IRA for the last 40 years. A few
guys in a bar in Yonkers were about the size of the support for the
Provos, and they were recent immigrants from Tyrone and Armagh.

Ed Hagan

________________________________________
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List [IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On Behalf Of
Rogers, James S. [JROGERS[at]STTHOMAS.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 5:59 PM
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: Re: [IR-D] Obama's College Green Speech

Trina Vargo lately wrote in the Huffington Post that there is no
Irish-American vote -- persuasively, I thought:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/trina-vargo/the-nonexistent-irish-ame_b_86
3672.html


Jim Rogers

-----Original Message-----
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List [mailto:IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On
Behalf Of Agata Piekosz
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 4:41 PM
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: Re: [IR-D] Obama's College Green Speech

I think I have to agree with Ultan.
I think he took all the stops to gain the Irish-American vote, that was
very obvious (election coming up). Some of the speech seemed a little
recycled
too: but he made an effort to make a connection with the Irish people,
and it seemed to have worked: from what I overheard in the crowd.
Agata.

On Tue, May 24, 2011 at 8:11 PM, Sean Williams
wrote:

> I don't think it was intended to be perceived as a contest. I thought=20
> it was a great speech with a lot of nice insider references. The Queen

> had entirely different fish to fry (and a few centuries to answer=20
> for). Plus, he had to leave before the volcanic ash closed the
airport!
> Sean Williams
>
>
> On May 24, 2011, at 9:52 AM, Ultan Cowley wrote:
>
> Stirring stuff, but pure electioneering; he gave his own campaign,=20
> and
>> Enda's popularity, a boost but the Queen put in the time and left a=20
>> real legacy on which much of lasting value can and will be built. No
contest!
>>
>> Ultan Cowley
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Cian McMahon"
>> To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
>> Sent: Tuesday, 24 May, 2011 4:44:36 PM
>> Subject: [IR-D] Obama's College Green Speech
>>
>> For those who did not see it, here is a link to the full text of=20
>> Barack Obama's speech in College Green on Monday. Given its several=20
>> references to Irish migration, I thought the list members might get=20
>> some mileage out of it.
>>
>> http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0524/1224297638116.h
>> tml
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Cian McMahon
>>
>


--
*Agata Piekosz *M.A
PhD Candidate
Department of Sociology
University of Toronto

725 Spadina Avenue
Toronto, ON,M5S 2J4
Canada
Tel: 416.946.5883
Fax: 416.978.3963

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Liam Greenslade Academic
Subject: Maurice Walsh: Does Ireland have a future
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Latest upload to the RSA video collection on YouTube Maurice Walsh's
interesting if pessimistic take on a question that's once again popular.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5JH-xzyE4Q&feature=digest

Best

Liam

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Book Notice,
The News from Ireland: Foreign Correspondents and the Irish
Revolution
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Message-ID:

The News from Ireland: Foreign Correspondents and the Irish Revolution by
Maurice Walsh (Paperback - 24 Mar 2011)

The Anglo-Irish war of 1919-1921 was an international historical landmark:
the first successful revolution against British rule and the beginning of
the end of the Empire. However, the Irish revolutionaries did not win their
struggle on the battlefield - their key victory was in mobilising public
opinion in Britain and the rest of the world. Journalists and writers
flocked to Ireland, where the increasingly brutal conflict was seen as the
crucible for settling some of the key issues of the new world order emerging
from the ruins of World War One. On trial was the British Empire's claim to
be the champion of civilisation as well as the principle of
self-determination proclaimed by the American president Woodrow Wilson. "The
News from Ireland" vividly explores the work of British and American
correspondents in Ireland as well as other foreign journalists and literary
figures. It offers a penetrating and persuasive assessment of the Irish
revolution's place in a key moment of world history as well as the role of
the press and journalism in the conflict.

This important book is essential reading for anyone interested in Irish
history and how our understanding of history generally is shaped by the
media.

Introduction
The Education of the War Correspondents
Revolution in the Making
The Moral Accountant: A Journalist in Pursuit of the Black and Tans
Seeing the Sun at Noon: The Crusading Pres Restores
The Propaganda War
An Old World Fight: American Journalists in Ireland
Literary Tourists: G.K. Chesterton, Wilfred Ewart and V.S. Pritchett as
Reports
Conclusion

Imprint: I.B.Tauris
Publisher: I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd

Hardback
ISBN: 9781845117146
Publication Date: 30 Sep 2008
Number of Pages: 272
Height: 234
Width: 156

Paperback
ISBN: 9781848856738
Publication Date: 01 Mar 2011
Number of Pages: 272
Height: 234
Width: 156

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Book Notice, CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE IRISH PARADE
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Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Message-ID:

CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE IRISH PARADE
Author(s): Bridget Houlihan Kennedy

ISBN: 9780738577227
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Book Description:
Considered to be one of the largest neighborhood-based St. Patrick's Day
parades outside Dublin, Chicago's South Side Irish Parade began quite
modestly, with 17 children under the age of 10 marching twice around the
block. Dubbing themselves the "Wee Ones of Washtenaw and Talman," the
founders of this great parade marched with homemade signs, costumes, and a
baby buggy while neighbors and family members cheered them on. Over the next
31 years, the parade grew into an annual event, attracting hundreds of
thousands who came to celebrate Irish heritage with family and friends. In
2009, Pres. Barack Obama encouraged Taoiseach Brian Cowen of Ireland to
visit the parade, calling it "one of the great events in America."

Author Bio: Bridget Houlihan Kennedy is originally from Chicago's South
Side. She began going to the parade with her family and grandmother Alice
O'Leary Loftus as a young girl. A graduate of John Carroll University,
Kennedy received her master's in journalism-public affairs at Columbia
College in Chicago. Now a freelance writer and reporter, Kennedy has written
for Chicago Magazine, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Pioneer Press. She
currently resides in Chicago with her husband and family.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Book Notice, Beckett and Ireland
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Beckett and Ireland
Edited by: Se=E1n Kennedy, St Mary's University, Halifax, Canada

Table of Contents

Introduction: Ireland/Europe =85 Beckett/Beckett Se=E1n Kennedy
1. The Ghost at the feast: Beckett and Irish studies Ron=E1n McDonald
2. Frames of referrance: Samuel Beckett as an Irish question David Lloyd
3. The politics of aftermath: Beckett, modernism and the Irish Free =
State
James McNaughton
4. Beckett at the GPO: Murphy, Ireland, and the 'unhomely' Patrick Bixby
5. 'In the street I was lost': cultural dislocation in Beckett's 'The =
End'
Se=E1n Kennedy
6. Postcolonial parables: repositioning Waiting for Godot Victor =
Merriman
7. Ghost writer: Beckett's Irish Gothic Sin=E9ad Mooney
8. Back roads: Edgeworth, Yeats, Bowen, Beckett Peter Boxall
9. Vestiges of Ireland in Beckett's late fiction Michael Wood
10. Afterword: 'the skull the skull the skull the skull in Connemara':
Beckett, Ireland and elsewhere Andrew Gibson
Bibliography
Index.

Beckett and Ireland is the first volume of essays devoted exclusively to =
the
topic of Beckett's vexed relationship with his homeland. It provides
compelling evidence of the continuing relevance of Ireland to Beckett's
writing long after he left for wartime France. Each essay is written by =
a
leading Beckett scholar, and presents new insights into a wide range of
approaches and topics. The volume offers a fresh perspective, providing =
a
genuine step forward in the understanding and appreciation of these =
texts.
It is essential reading for Beckettians, Modernists, and those =
interested in
Irish writing.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article,
Discrimination and Identity Construction: The Case of Italian
Immigrants and their Offspring in the USA
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Discrimination and Identity Construction: The Case of Italian Immigrants and
their Offspring in the USA
Journal of Intercultural Studies
Volume 32, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 293 - 307
Author: Stefano Luconi

Abstract
This paper applies the concept of ethnicity as a social and cultural
construction to the experience of Italian Americans in the USA. It shows
that the newcomers who arrived from the Italian peninsula in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries revealed a localistic sense of
belonging as a consequence of the belated political unification of their
native country. It also highlights that the immigrants and their offspring
developed an identity based on their common national ancestry in the
interwar years, primarily under the pressures of group defensiveness against
anti-Italian prejudice, intolerance and discrimination. Their progeny
eventually redefined its attachment in racial terms by joining forces with
members of other minorities of European extractions who perceived African
Americans' assertiveness in the decades after the Second World War as
reverse discrimination against whites.

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From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Migration Museum UK
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Forwarded on behalf of

Sophie Henderson
Project co-ordinator
M: 07768 551 273
www.migrationmuseum.org

Introduction

We are seeking to create Britain's first major Migration Museum telling the
story of movement into and out of the UK in a really fresh and engaging way.
A group of volunteers has been formed under the leadership of Barbara Roche,
former Minister for Immigration, and scoping research has been completed,
published by ippr.

Britain has thousands of museums dedicated to a variety of themes -
Aerospace, Golf, Toys, Wool, Rowing and Stained Glass - but no major,
comprehensive Migration Museum. The US has Ellis Island and Britain needs
something similar - an inspiring and moving institution to celebrate the
role that migration has played in the national story. The museum will be an
enquiry into who we are, where we came from and where we are going. Britons
at home and abroad have a shared cultural history and an exciting future. We
aim to represent the thrilling tales, the emotion and the history that have
gone into shaping our national fabric; we aim to be the museum of all our
stories.

http://www.migrationmuseum.org.uk/

Research published by ippr

Read Dr Mary Stevens' scoping research, Stories Old and New: Migration in
the UK heritage sector - opens PDF file

http://www.migrationmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ippr-Stories-Old-a
nd-New.pdf

Read the Migration Museum Working Group's report A Moving Story: is there a
case for a major museum of migration in the UK - opens PDF file.

http://www.migrationmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ippr-a-moving-stor
y.pdf

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: 2012 O'Donnell Fellowship in Irish Studies, Melbourne
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From: Angela Gehrig=20
Director, Academic Centre
St Mary's College and Newman College
University of Melbourne

Dear all,

Applications are open for the 2012 O'Donnell Fellowship in Irish Studies =
at
Newman and St Mary's Colleges, University of Melbourne.=20

In 2012 the O'Donnell Fellowship can be taken up either:=20

4 January - 10 February
or
18 June - 20 July=20

Applications are sought by Monday 18 July 2011.=20

If you could please circulate the details to your networks that
would be much appreciated.=20

Best wishes,

Professor Elizabeth Malcolm
Dr Val Noone=20
Dr Dianne Hall
Angela Gehrig


Angela Gehrig
Director, Academic Centre
St Mary's College and Newman College
University of Melbourne
Telephone: 9342 1614 or 9349 9511
http://www.academiccentre.stmarys.newman.unimelb.edu.au/


The O=92Donnell Fellowship in Irish Studies
The O=92Donnell Fellowship commemorates the donation to Newman College,
University of Melbourne, of the personal library of Melbourne-based =
doctor
and Irish scholar, Nicholas Michael O=92Donnell (1862-1920). This =
collection
of books, pamphlets and manuscripts, many in the Irish language, was
presented in 1924, =91subject only to the condition that Dr =
O=92Donnell=92s name
should be permanently associated with the gift=92 (Letter from Frank =
Brennan
(1873-1950), Dr O=92Donnell=92s son-in-law and later Australian Federal
Attorney-General, to the Rector, Newman College, 3 July 1924).

The O=92Donnell library forms the core of an Irish Studies collection =
that has
grown since 1924 with further donations and acquisitions relating to
Ireland. Highlights of the collection include many 19th-century Irish
histories and Irish-language publications, plus two 19th-century
manuscripts. One manuscript is a version of the great Irish saga T=E1in =
B=F3
Cuailnge or The Cattle Raid of Cooley, written by Seosamh =D3 Long=E1in =
in 1862;
the other is a collection of several stories by a number of scribes
-available online at Irish Script on Screen, Dublin Institute of =
Advanced
Studies: http://www.isos.dias.ie

Recent additions to the Irish Studies collection include a set of books =
on
Irish themes from the library of Daniel Mannix (1864-1963), Irish-born
former Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne; and a folder of papers and =
poems of
Seamus Heaney. The Irish Studies collection is now housed in the Gerry
Higgins Room in the Allan and Maria Myers Academic Centre at Newman =
College
and St Mary=92s College. The room=92s name pays tribute to a generous =
donor to
Newman College, whose family has also funded the Gerry Higgins Chair of
Irish Studies at the University of Melbourne.

The collection is largely catalogued and records are available for =
searching
via the Academic Centre=92s library catalogue:
http://amlib.newman.unimelb.edu.au/
In addition there are extensive Irish Studies resources in libraries =
close
by, particularly the University of Melbourne and the State Library of
Victoria.

In 2012 the O=92Donnell Fellowship will be available for the period
4 January =96 10 February
or
18 June =96 20 July

The O=92Donnell Fellowship aims to:
o Promote the Irish Studies library to a research audience;
o Add value to the library by encouraging scholarship based around it;
o Support scholars especially in Irish Diaspora Studies and Irish =
History;
o Enhance the Academic Centre=92s role as a community of scholars;
o Strengthen ties between the Centre and the Irish Studies community.
=20

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Ethnopolitics, Volume 10, Issue 2, 2011,
Introduction: Migration and Divided Societies
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The latest issue of the journal, Ethnopolitics, is a Special Issue on
Migration and Divided Societies, edited by Chris Gilligan and Susan Ball.
Their Introduction can be freely downloaded at the Informaworld web site.

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a937701281~db=all~jumptype=
rss

Abstract of the Introduction pasted in below.

The Special Issue is built around a number of case studies, including one on
Northern Ireland, by Chris Gilligan and colleagues. Separate email about
that article follows.

P.O'S.

Introduction: Migration and Divided Societies

Ethnopolitics: Formerly Global Review of Ethnopolitics
Volume 10, Issue 2, 2011, Pages 153 - 170
Authors: Chris Gilligan a; Susan Ball b

Abstract
The academic literature on divided societies emerged from the study of
colonial societies that were characterized by sharp and persistent cleavage
along ethnic lines, and the study of consociational democracies in which
there are power-sharing arrangements between two or more groups in an
ethnically segmented society. The study of divided societies emerged
historically at a moment when there was a growing interest in the study of
immigration and inter-ethnic relations in developed industrial nations.
These two sets of literature-on divided societies and on immigration and
inter-ethnic relations-have developed largely in isolation from each other.
Both sets of literature have also tended to focus on inter-ethnic relations,
and have paid much less attention to migration. In this article, it is
argued that there are a number of reasons why it is worth trying to
encourage dialogue across these two sets of literature. In making the case:
what is meant by the term divided society is examined; some of the ways in
which the issue of migration has changed in three different divided
societies-Bosnia, Northern Ireland and South Africa-are outlined; the topic
of immigration and integration is examined; and some ways in which the study
of divided societies might benefit from engaging more seriously with the
literature on migration are suggested.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article, Fractures,
Foreigners and Fitting In: Exploring Attitudes towards
Immigration and Integration in 'Post-Conflict' Northern Ireland
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Fractures, Foreigners and Fitting In: Exploring Attitudes towards
Immigration and Integration in 'Post-Conflict' Northern Ireland

Ethnopolitics: Formerly Global Review of Ethnopolitics
Volume 10, Issue 2, 2011, Pages 253 - 269
Authors: Chris Gilligan a; Paul Hainsworth b; Aidan McGarryc

Abstract
The 1998 Peace Agreement was a (consociational) form of pluralist settlement
designed to end conflict in Northern Ireland through giving institutional
recognition to the rights and identities of the 'two communities'
(nationalist and unionist) in Northern Ireland (with some provision for a
third category 'other'). Critics of the consociational nature of the
Agreement have argued that it overstates the extent and nature of the
communal divide in Northern Ireland and has institutionalized division at
the heart of governance in the region. Since 1998 Northern Ireland has
shifted from being a region of net emigration to net immigration. Critics
argue that this has brought greater levels of plurality to the region, but
that the institutional framework established under the Agreement is not well
equipped to deal with this plurality. The authors draw on survey data to
explore this issue. It is argued that there is a good basis to the claims
made by the critics, but some other factors are identified-chiefly a retreat
from politics and the ambiguities of pluralism-that the authors believe also
need to be considered in any attempt to understand the place of immigrants
and ethnic minorities in a 'new' Northern Ireland.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
Subject: Lost Generations or Transnational Sojourners? Emerging
perspectives on contemporary Irish and European (e)migration
trends
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Dear Bill

I would be very grateful if you could circulate the attached to the =
list. We are also working on a Facebook page and will be using other =
social media to reach as a wide a possible audience as we can manage. We =
will be offering webinar access to enable people to follow and =
participate from a distance. Obviously members of this List will be =
especially welcome!

Regards

Piaras


=20

Lost Generations or Transnational Sojourners?

Emerging perspectives on contemporary Irish and European (e)migration =
trends

=20

A Symposium hosted by the Migration and Integration Research Cluster

Institute for Social Sciences in the 21st Century and Irish Social =
Sciences Platform

University College Cork

=20

Monday June 20th 2011

2.00 - 5.30pm

O'Rahilly Building, Room ORB156, UCC

=20

The movement of migrants in and out of Ireland and other 'peripheral' =
European states is part of a complex pattern of transnational and =
circular flows of migration, marked by changing patterns of migrant =
origins and destinations, globalised processes of dis/investment, =
changing life-course transitions, the remodelling of national and =
international labour markets and rapidly shifting European regional =
dynamics. In this context, how can we make sense of the re-emergence of =
mass outmigration from certain EU states? And how are narratives and =
discourses of migration being re/shaped in the national imaginaries of =
contemporary EU societies?

In this symposium, we draw together emerging perspectives on recent =
outmigration flows from and return flows to three European states - =
Ireland, Portugal and Poland - raising questions about the place of =
'emigration' in contemporary European societies. =20

Confirmed Speakers:

Dr. Joana Azevedo, Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology, Lisbon

Dr. Mary Gilmartin, Department of Geography, NUI Maynooth

Piaras Mac =C9inr=ED, Department of Geography and ISS21, University =
College Cork

Joe O'Brien, Crosscare Migrant Project (formerly Emigrant Advice) Dublin

Agata Piekosz, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto

All Welcome! Please email ucc.emigration.workshop[at]gmail.com to reserve =
your place.

We anticipate that webinar access will also be available for =
participants who wish to log in from outside UCC, Cork or Ireland. =
Contact ucc.emigration.workshop[at]gmail.com now for further details.=20

This is an initiative of the Institute for Social Sciences in the 21st =
Century and the Irish Social Sciences Platform in collaboration with the =
Polish Embassy in Ireland.

Workshop convenors: Piaras Mac =C9inr=ED, Allen White, Caitr=EDona N=ED =
Laoire, Linda Connolly

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Miriam Nyhan
Subject: Reminder: Colloquium on Immigrants and Associations,
New York University, Friday 10 June
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HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Immigrants & Associational Culture

COLLOQUIUM PROGRAMME

New York University, Glucksman Ireland House
Friday 10 June 2011

RSVP (suggested but not required):ireland.house[at]nyu.edu
http://irelandhouse.as.nyu.edu/object/ne.associationscolloquium

Immigrants frequently recreate a sense of home through the associations the=
y
join and form: a home away from home. This colloquium brings together a
number of scholars who are interested in immigrant associational culture in
different ethnic groups and through a variety of disciplinary lenses. The
meeting aims to provoke a dialogue on various issues: What are the roles of
associations in immigrant communities? What leads to the growth and decline
of immigrant associations over time? What is the correlation between the
size of the immigrant community and the dynamism of the associational
topography? Does an associational culture play a significant role in
patterns of acculturation and assimilation? What benefits do an
interdisciplinary and/or comparative approach bring to the study of
immigrant associations? How and when to immigrant associations simply becom=
e
ethnic associations? Join us as we attempt to formulate answers to these an=
d
other questions, as we celebrate New York University=92s presentation of th=
e
exhibit The Fifth Province: County Associations in Irish America.


Venue: Glucksman Ireland House NYU, 1 Washington Mews8:45=969:15amCoffee &
Continental Breakfast9:15=969:25amOpening of Proceedings, *Noel Kilkenny*,
Consul General of Ireland, New York9:25=969:30amWelcoming Remarks, *Prof.
Miriam Nyhan*, NYU, co-curator of *The Fifth Province: Country Societies in
Irish America*9:30=9610:15am*Prof. Daniel Soyer*, Fordham University, =93Je=
wish
Immigrant Associations & American Identity=9410:15=9611am*Prof. Alyshia Gal=
vez*,
CUNY Lehman College, =93Becoming Mexican: Devotion & Struggle for Citizensh=
ip
Rights among Mexican Immigrants in New York City=9411=9611:15amCoffee
11:15am=9612pm*Prof. Pyong Gap Min*, CUNY Queens College, =93Social Service=
s &
Ethnic Organizations in the Korean Community in the New York-New Jersey
Area=9412=9612:45pm*Prof. Thomas Owusu*, William Paterson University, =93Th=
e Role
of Ghanaian Immigrant Associations in the U.S. & Canada=9412:45=961:45pmLun=
chVenue:
NYU Open House, 528 La Guardia Place1:45=962:30pm*Prof. Miriam Nyhan*, NYU,
=93Irish County Associations in London & New York: The Comparative
Perspective=942:30=963:15pm*Prof. Hector R. Cordero-Guzman*, CUNY Baruch
College, =93Community-based Organizations & Migration in New York City=94
3:15=963:30pmCoffee3:30=964:15pm*Prof. Jose Moya*, Barnard College & Columb=
ia
University, =93Immigrants & Associations: A Search for Explanatory Patterns=
=94
4:15=965pmGroup discussion, reflections & conclusions, moderated by *Prof.
Jerry Krase*, Brooklyn College, CUNY, and *Prof. Miriam Nyhan*, NYUVenue:
Glucksman Ireland House NYU, 1 Washington Mews5=967pmWine & Cheese Receptio=
nView
the exhibit

*The Fifth Province: County Societies in Irish
America
*

An exhibition by New York University=92s Glucksman Ireland House & Archives=
of
Irish America, created in partnership with the United Irish Counties
Association of New York with funding from the Government of Ireland=92s
Emigrant Support Programme.

May 21, 2011 =96 August 14, 2011
NYU Open House
528 LaGuardia Place
New York, NY 10012

*Hours:*
Tuesday, Wednesday, & Friday 12=965pm
Thursday 2=967pm
Saturday & Sunday 1=964pm


--=20
Miriam Nyhan Ph.D.
Assistant Professor & Faculty Fellow
Glucksman Ireland House, NYU

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article,
From Waterloo to Jellalabad: The Irish and Scots at war in R
Elizabeth Thompson Butler D and W. F. Butler
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Journal of European Studies May 19, 2011 vol. 41 no. 2 143-160


From Waterloo to Jellalabad: The Irish and Scots at war in R Elizabeth
Thompson Butler D and W. F. Butler

Catherine Wynne
University of Hull, c.wynne[at]hull.ac.uk

Abstract

This essay examines the paintings of the British war artist Elizabeth
Thompson Butler in conjunction with the travel, military and political
writings of her husband William Francis Butler. It explores how their work
both subscribes to and deviates from prevailing British imperial ideology.
Elizabeth Butler produced scenes of war which eschewed jingoism and focused
instead on soldiers' suffering. William Butler was an Irish Catholic officer
in the British army. Despite fighting the wars of empire, he was sceptical
of imperial expansion and sympathetic to Irish Home Rule objectives.
Consequently, he does not conveniently fit within the categories of late
Victorian imperialist or Irish Nationalist. The discussion reappraises the
work of both Butlers, highlighting their sophisticated engagements with
notions of war and empire from Waterloo to Afghanistan. Although William
died in 1910, Elizabeth Butler lived to paint the First World War. I examine
how the Butlers depict battlegrounds of Europe and empire, and address a
range of colonial socio-political grievances. Close attention to their work,
particularly to their shared interest in the figure of the colonial
subaltern, reveals a multiplicity of narratives constituting British and
Irish identities and allegiances from the late Victorian period to the First
World War.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article, Contesting the European Union?
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Political Research Quarterly June 2011 vol. 64 no. 2 309-322

Contesting the European Union? Why the Dutch and the French Rejected the
European Constitution

Sara Binzer Hobolt
University of Oxford, UK

Sylvain Brouard
Universit=E9 de Bordeaux, France, s.brouard[at]sciencespobordeaux.fr
Abstract

The process of establishing a constitution for Europe came to an end =
when
voters in France and the Netherlands rejected the proposal. Analyzing =
both
media coverage and survey data, this article seeks to disentangle the
reasons why a majority of voters rejected the European Constitution. The
authors=92 findings suggest that the campaign played an important role =
in
priming certain attitudes and that vote choices, in turn, were driven by
specific issue concerns rather than general dissatisfaction with the
European Union or national governments. These findings have implications =
not
only for our understanding of direct democracy in Europe but also for =
the
study of campaign effects.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: 30 PhD fellowships at NUI Galway
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Dear colleagues,=20

Please circulate the announcement below to interested students and =
colleagues.=20
=20
National University of Ireland, Galway are now offering 30 scholarships =
for structured PhD programmes. The Hardiman Research Scholarships are =
fully-funded four-year PhD scholarships, focused on five key areas of =
research in which the University offers leading expertise. The value of =
the Research Scholarship is a stipend of =E2=82=AC16,000 plus fees.
=20
Among the areas of research being funded is a strand on Humanities in =
Context. This features a number of projects that will be of interest to =
students of Irish literature, history and culture. The full list of =
potential supervisors may be viewed here: =
http://www.nuigalway.ie/about-us/documents/hardiman-research-scholarships=
-potential-research-supervisors.pdf
=20
Applicants can see the full details here: =
http://www.nuigalway.ie/about-us/news-and-events/hardiman-scholarships/in=
dex.html
=20
The deadline for receipt of applications is 5 pm, on Sunday June 19, =
2011.
I would be happy to take queries from interested applicants, as would =
any of the other potential supervisors.=20

Best wishes,=20
Patrick Lonergan =20
_______________________________
Dr Patrick Lonergan
English, School of Humanities=20
National University of Ireland, Galway=20
http://www.nuigalway.ie/english/patrick_lonergan.html
Email: Patrick.Lonergan[at]nuigalway.ie=20
______________________________
=20

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: TV SERIES The Story Of Ireland, presented by Fergal Keane
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I have been watching this new television series, The Story Of Ireland,
presented by Fergal Keane, and I think that it is basically all right. We
have by now seen, and been involved in, enough of these things to be
familiar with certain tropes - for example a recurring assumption that the
viewer's head is already full of impressionistic misinformation... And we
need to be disabused.

But it is all solid enough - interviews with the usual sages. And it is
good to see you all looking so well.

One trope avoided is the use of refugees from the Hospital for Over-Acting
in unconvincing, and underfunded, re-enactment. Here when the television
narrative demands some illustration, other that the man walking around and
pointing, the series uses, very confident, scraperboard illustrations by
artist David Rooney...

http://www.davidrooney.com/David_Rooney_Illustration/TV_Illustration/TV_Illu
stration.html

(Move your mouse over the illustrations to see a sequence, or click on an
image to see a slideshow...)

The technique and the style mean that the illustrations already have a
period look - like one of those nineteenth century illustrated histories.
And the choice has the odd effect of imposing a certain look on every
century's events.

Some web comment has taken issue with Fergal Keane's OBE, or his great
grandfather in the Royal Irish Constabulary, and finds Unionist bias. But,
really, most the comment on the web seems to be based on the BBC Press
Release...

'The Story Of Ireland is a major new landmark series from BBC Northern
Ireland examining the history of Ireland and its impact on the wider world,
from the earliest times right up to the present day. This compelling
five-part series is written and presented by BBC correspondent Fergal
Keane.'

PRESS RELEASE
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/02_february/10/i
reland.shtml

The DVD is already available
http://www.bbcshop.com/history/story-of-ireland-dvd/invt/bbcdvd3306/

Sections of the accompanying book, written by Neil Hegarty, introduced by
Fergal Keane, are visible on the publisher's web site.
http://www.rbooks.co.uk/product.aspx?id=1846079683

There seems to be no direct link with the TV Series, and David Rooney's
illustrations are not used.

Comment has begun to appear in the usual online shops.

P.O'S.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: TV Documentary, Wonderland - The Men Who Won't Stop Marching
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The documentary about the Belfast flute bands, on BBC TV 2 earlier in the
week, was worth watching...

Alison Millar, director, Wonderland - The Men Who Won't Stop Marching

The Wonderland part of the title is simply the name of this BBC documentary
series...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b011qdp0/Wonderland_Series_3_The_Men_Wh
o_Wont_Stop_Marching/

'More than ten years after the end of the troubles, filmmaker Alison Millar
explores Belfast's Shankill Road to find out how well the scars of war have
healed. For four months she joined the men of the famous marching bands and
in particular, spent time with Jordan, an eleven-year old aspiring drummer
from one of the most famous former paramilitary families on the estate. What
she found is a mixture of entrenched prejudice, relief that the troubles are
over, nostalgia for the days of paramilitary discipline, and a battened-down
resistance to talking about the past.'

A web search will find much newspaper comment, but, I think, little
appreciation of what the film maker was doing.

The obvious point of comparison is, I think, the work of Jana Bokova - I
have just phoned Jana to talk about this film. I assume that every woman
documentary film maker has watched Jana's work. Alison Millar uses Jana's
technique of asking naive questions from behind the camera - and never
challenging when an interviewee is obviously lying.

The obvious Jana Bokova films to think of are TANGO MIO and BAHIA OF ALL THE
SAINTS - both about tradition, 'schools', and the ways in which tradition is
passed on by inarticulate men. Often by not particularly likeable,
inarticulate men.

Alison Millar was very well served by her camera person - whose name I have
not been able to find out.

P.O'S.